"I have asked Francois Hollande to leave our home, to pursue his love interest which is now laid out in books and newspapers and I wish him happiness," Royal said in an interview for the book to be published Wednesday.

Speculation about the couple has been rife for months.

In the book, Royal did not name the other woman in Hollande's life but said she and the Socialist leader "remain on good terms. We talk to each other. There is mutual respect."

She asked that Hollande no longer be described as her "partner" because, she said: "That is no longer the case."