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French first lady Valerie Trierweiler was rushed to hospital following news of President Francois Hollande’s alleged affair, the Daily Mail reported.

News of his apparent romantic liaisons with an actress made her so depressed when she first heard about it on Thursday that she immediately sought medical treatment.

Today she was still in hospital, Le Parisien newspaper reported, citing sources close to the 48-year-old.

They said she had been prescribed 'lots of rest' and was not likely to come out of hospital 'for a few days.'

A spokeswoman for the first lady confirmed that Ms Trierweiler was admitted to hospital on Friday – the day Closer magazine came out.

Ms Trierweiler was ‘undergoing tests’ and being ‘left to rest’, the spokeswoman added.

Elysee Palace sources also confirmed the hospitilisation, saying Ms Trierweiler was likely to come out of the unnamed central Paris hospital on Monday.

It came as a news poll showed the vast majority of French people want President Hollande to separate from Ms Trierweiler.

This would result in her becoming the first Premiere Dame in history to be kicked out of the Elysee Palace.

She would be replaced by Julie Gayet, a 41-year-old actress who has allegedly been conducting a secret affair with the Socialist head of state since last year.

Le Point, the respected political weekly, is running an online poll which today shows 89 per cent of the French think Mr Hollande ‘should announce his separation from Valerie Trierweiler.’

The figure reflects mounting anger that the already deeply unpopular Paris Match journalist continues to maintain her own office at the Elysee Palace, and ‘represent’ France abroad.

MP Jean-Christophe Lagarde said: ‘She is not the wife of the president of the Republic, she plays the role of the first lady of France, when it appears that there is another first lady. The situation needs to be clarified very rapidly.’

Ms Trierweiler has made no formal comment since news of Mr Hollande’s apparent cheating was made public on Friday, but sources to her say she is ‘incensed and humiliated’ by the scandal.

There are claims that she and Mr Hollande have been living separate lives for months, and that the president is keen to ‘formalise’ his relationship with Ms Gayet.