Former French first lady returns from post-split India trip

Paris: France`s former first lady Valerie Trierweiler returned to Paris early Wednesday from a charity trip to India, her first public appearance since President Francois Hollande announced their split after his affair with an actress. Trierweiler`s plane from India`s financial capital Mumbai landed at 8:05 am (0705 GMT) and she was whisked away without having to go through the normal passenger terminal, an airport official told AFP. Her two-day visit to India on behalf of the French charity Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) saw her visit a slum and witness a feeding programme for malnourished children. She told AFP during the India trip that she would like to extend her humanitarian work -- "especially towards poor children". The 48-year-old, who is still employed as an arts writer by the French magazine Paris Match, said she planned to continue charity work rather than returning to her previous role as a political journalist.

The prospect of covering Hollande would be "too complicated" she admitted at the end of the trip.