France's newest (unmarried) First Lady wears vertiginous heels to White House tour

The girlfriend of France's new president made her first official appearance at the G-8 first ladies' club as she toured the White House in a pair of towering heels.
Valerie Trierweiler wore a pair of stunning black heels as she joined Michelle Obama and some of the most powerful women in the world a tour of the White House.
She still wasn't as tall as Mrs Obama though, who towered above all of her guests, despite the fact that she wore a sensible pair of flat shoes for the occasion.

Powerful women: US First Lady Michelle Obama (Centre) gives a tour of White House to G8 leaders'

spouses

Valerie Trierweiler (R), companion of France's President Francois Hollande, admires the surroundings during the tour

Valerie Trierweiler wowed in high heels and a stylish hand bag

Valerie Trierweiler (Centre) listens to an interpreter during a tour of the White House. Also pictured are Geertrui Windels Van Rompuy (far left) and Hitomi Noda (far right)

The spouses looked impressed by what they were shown during the tour

But Miss Trierweiler's shoes are not the only thing about her to have had heads turning recently.
She has attracted considerable attention across the world because she is the first partner of a French President not to be married.
The ladies were also treated to a meal made from produce grown in her White House vegetable garden as a Group of Eight summit got underway.
On the menu was gazpacho, Maryland rockfish with asparagus, grapefruit, Virginia berries, greens from the White House garden and caramelized olive oil; and tangerine sorbet with Virginia strawberries.
The first lady and the spouses of six of the Group of Eight leaders were led on a tour of the White House, including the East Room and State Dining Room, by curator Bill Allman.
Mrs Obama will host events for the spouses of NATO leaders, including an event at a youth centre and a dinner at the Art Institute of Chicago when she travels with the President to Chicago on Saturday night for the NATO summit.
In the opening day of the G8 summit U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to work with Europe to balance growth with debt reduction as world leaders try to prevent the worsening euro zone crisis from destabilizing the global economy.
At the wooded Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, Obama and leaders from other major economic powers are seeking ways to soothe financial markets after worries about Spain's banking problems and the risk of a Greek exit from the euro zone sent world stocks to their lowest levels this year.

 

A shirt-sleeved Obama opened the morning session on the global economy at a rustic lodge, promising to seek ways to restore healthy growth and jobs and address concerns in Europe.

Lady in black: French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler listens to an interpreter as she tours the White House

'All of us are absolutely committed to making sure that both growth and stability, and fiscal consolidation, are part of an overall package in order to achieve the kind of prosperity for our citizens we all are looking for,' Obama said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, after an early morning treadmill workout with Obama at the Camp David gym, said he detected a 'growing sense of urgency that action needs to be taken' on the euro zone crisis. London relies heavily on international finance and banking instability would strike a fresh blow to an economy already in recession.
'Contingency plans need to be put in place and the strengthening of banks, governance, firewalls - all of those things need to take place very fast,' he told reporters.
European Union leaders seemed keen to stress on Friday that they would stand firm in protecting their banks, after news of escalating bad loans raised the specter that rescuing Spain's banks would crash the euro zone's fourth largest economy.
'We will do whatever is needed to guarantee the financial stability of the euro zone,' EU President Herman Van Rompuy said.
Earlier French President Francois Hollande suggested using European funds to inject capital into Spain's banks, which would mark a significant acceleration of EU rescue efforts.
An Italian newspaper reported that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has propose at the G8 creating a European-wide system of bank deposit insurance. Officials had no immediate comment.
Beyond stabilizing the financial system, a key issue on the agenda is how to balance a growth with efforts to lower government debt through fiscal belt tightening. Obama has aligned himself with Monti and the new French president in putting more emphasis on growth.

That places pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has pushed fiscal austerity as a the prime means of bringing down huge debt levels that are burdening European economies.

Pretty in purple: From right, First Lady Michelle Obama, Hitomi Noda, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Valerie Trierweiler, partner of French President Francois Hollande, listen to a curator

US First Lady Michelle Obama (Right), French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler (Left) and Japanís Prime Minister Yoshihiko Nodaís wife Hitomi (Centre) stand in the East Room during a tour of the White House

Voters in euro zone countries have shown frustration with that approach, ejecting the Greek government and in France the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by Hollande, a socialist, in the May 6 elections.
A draft of the summit communiqué shown to Reuters will stress an 'imperative to create growth and jobs.'
There are signs of softening in Germany's austerity stance.
Germany's largest industrial union, IG Metall, struck its biggest pay deal in 20 years early on Saturday. The 4.3 per cent pay increase, more than double Germany's inflation rate, will boost worker buying power in the euro zone's richest nation and lift consumption.
It is something the United States long has urged as a means to bolster overall growth throughout the world's second largest economic region.

White House Curator Bill Allman (second left) speaks to G8 leaders spouses