PARIS: French President Francois Hollande paid a first visit to his partner Valerie Trierweiler since she was hospitalized in need of rest after reports he has a mistress, a source in his office said.

The source declined to give further details about the visit, which came amid questions over whether the 48-year-old Trierweiler will still enjoy the unofficial title of France’s first lady and accompany Hollande on state visits.

Opponents of Hollande, whose failure to turn around the French economy has already made him the most unpopular leader of modern-day France, have accused him of bringing the role of president into disrepute.

The 59-year-old Socialist has neither confirmed nor denied the magazine reports of an affair with film actress Julie Gayet, saying only that he had experienced “difficulties” in his personal life and that he would clarify his relationship with Trierweiler before a scheduled Feb 9-11 trip to Washington.

Trierweiler was initially due to have left Paris’ Pitie Salpetriere hospital last weekend. Local media have quoted acquaintances of the former journalist saying she needs “peace and quiet” to recover from the shock of an episode that has made world headlines.

Gayet, 41, issued a statement late on Thursday to deny media reports she was pregnant. She is seeking damages from celebrity magazine Closer, which last week published what it said were images of Hollande making a nocturnal visit to her pied-a-terre apartment in the upmarket eighth arrondissement of Paris.

Hollande has insisted on his right to a private life and pursued business largely as usual. On Tuesday he unveiled his economic reform plans for the rest of his five-year presidency and on Friday gave a keynote speech to French diplomats.

First Ladies of the World

FRANCE

France’s unmarried president — and the reported love triangle involving the companion he installed into the Elysee palace and a French actress supposedly down the street — have led the country into a delicate debate over whether it needs a first lady at all.

UNITED STATES

A court battle over the role of Hillary Rodham Clinton in a health care task force affirmed the status of First Lady as official in the United States, when a federal appeals panel ruled in 1993 that the president’s spouse is “a de facto officer or employee” of the government. Like Clinton, Michelle Obama had her own career before her husband was elected president.

GERMANY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s husband, chemistry professor Joachim Sauer, keeps a low public profile. He occasionally accompanies Merkel on official trips, but stayed away from her election and swearing-in in Parliament at the beginning of all her three terms.

BENELUX

The elected leaders are unmarried in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which all have royal families and the trappings of monarchy that largely dispense with protocol issues.

ARGENTINA

Cristina Fernandez was a high-profile first lady during the 2003-2007 presidency of her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.

KENYA

In March 2009, then-President Mwai Kibaki announced a last-minute, rare national news conference. Much of the nation came to a standstill. Anxiety turned to bewilderment when Kibaki, accompanied by his fuming wife, went on the air: “You and I know everybody else knows that I am married and I have only one wife. (AP)