FRANCOIS Hollande had hoped to draw a line under the scandal plunging¹ his presidency² into farce³ when he phoned the French state news agency to announce his separation from Valerie Trierweiler.

弗朗索瓦·奥朗德本希望通过法国国家通讯社电话宣布他和瓦莱丽分手的消息可以让自己免受丑闻的困扰，这一丑闻几乎快把他的总统生涯变成了闹剧。

But his domestic woes⁴ look set to continue amid claims he will have to pay her compensation for the humiliation⁵ and loss of earnings⁶ she suffered because of him.

As France's erstwhile（以前） first lady flew to India yesterday on a humanitarian⁷ assignment, friends said she was expecting to thrash out（研究解决） a financial settlement with the head of state upon her return.

"These women will have cost me dear," Mr Hollande told advisers⁸ over the weekend. The President left his five-bedroom flat in a chic⁹ suburb of Paris to Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children, when he dumped her for Ms Trierweiler in 2007.

Sources in his office say he has no intention of installing Julie Gayet, 41, the actress and film producer who is his latest mistress, in the Elysee Palace for now.

The publication of photographs showing Mr Hollande, 59, arriving on a scooter for a nocturnal encounter with Ms Gayet plunged¹⁰ him into private and political turmoil¹¹ a fortnight ago.

He sought to restore dignity to the presidency when he telephoned Agence France-Presse, the national press agency, over the weekend to read an 18-word statement saying he had terminated his relationship with Ms Trierweiler.

It came after Ms Trierweiler, 48, refused to sign a joint¹² statement with Mr Hollande, switching off her mobile on Friday and leaving his messages unanswered. Her spokesman, the only one of her five government staff still working for her, said she was now on "good terms" with Mr Hollande and in better health after the announcement of their break-up.

Ms Trierweiler spent a week in hospital and a further seven days recuperating¹³ at the presidential residence in Versailles after taking an overdose of sleeping pills upon discovering his affair with Ms Gayet. Her trip to Mumbai for Action Contre La Faim, which had been planned months ago, is likely to be her swansong as first lady. When she returns to Paris, she will find her page on the presidency's website has been removed.

Mr Hollande apparently¹⁴ has agreed to continue paying the rent for the flat in Rue¹⁵ Cauchy in the 15th arrondissement（郡） of Paris while she looks for somewhere else.

Friends of Ms Trierweiler, who has three sons from her second marriage, said she was expecting more than just short-term help with her accommodation. They say she wants compensation for having abandoned her post as presenter¹⁶ of a TV chat show, when Mr Hollande was elected in 2012.

Although she still works as a book reviewer for Paris Match - a post she will continue to fill, the magazine's editor says - she is understood to earn much less than Mr Hollande, who is paid Euro178,920 ($280,896) a year as president. The left-wing leader declared assets worth Euro1.17 million during the presidential campaign.

Bernard Fau, a divorce lawyer, said Ms Trierweiler could claim damages from the President not only for losing her quasi-official post as first lady but also for the way in which he cheated on her and then ditched her when his affair became known.

"She had an office, her activities were related on the presidency's internet site and she took part in state visits," Mr Fau said.

"She has suffered a loss with the end of this situation. Her image has been affected¹⁷. She has suffered a worldwide public affront¹⁸. The wrong is undeniable."

French courts rarely award more than a few thousand euros as compensation for hurt feelings in separation cases, but Ms Trierweiler may demand more given the pressure that friends say she has been under.