The former president of France Jacques Chirac died this morning. According to his son-in-law, he died peacefully in the presence of his loved ones. Chirac was 86 years old.
Chirac was president of France from 1995 to 2007. He has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for quite some time.
According to correspondent Stefan de Vries, Chirac was “one of the most colorful figures in French recent history.” “In 1962 he made his debut in politics. In 1977 he became the first Paris mayor, Prime Minister in 1986 and elected president in 1995. He held that position until 2007. In 2011 he was sentenced to two years in jail for two years an affair with fictional jobs in his time as mayor of Paris. ”
BREAKING: Former French President Jacques Chirac (86) has died pic.twitter.com/6atXB1CJcX
— Stefan de Vries (@stefandevries) September 26, 2019
Jacques René Chirac became president of France for the first time in 1995. The former mayor of Paris had been in national politics for almost 30 years and was known as a handy and charming quibble.
Originally, Chirac was a convinced supporter of General Charles de Gaulle. But he was best known as an opportunist pur sang, who in his desire for presidential power was willing to blow with many winds.
His abrupt changes in course earned him nicknames such as ‘Chameleon Bonaparte’ and ‘La Girouette’ (the wind vane). In addition, he was pursued by allegations of corruption, favoritism and fraud in his time as the mayor of his hometown of Paris.
After his departure in 2007, this led to a trial in which he was sentenced to two years in prison for abusing power and misappropriating political funds.
Chirac, born in a Catholic middle class family on November 29, 1932, became Prime Minister of France in 1974 under the liberal Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The two were not in line and in 1976 Chirac resigned. He founded the ‘neo -ullistic’ Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR). In 1981 he suffered a disgraceful defeat in the first round of the presidential election.
Only in 1995 did Chirac reach his goal: presidency. He defeated the socialist Lionel Jospin and moved into the Elysée. He initially had great power, but from 1997 onwards Chirac had to cooperate with Prime Minister Jospin, after a defeat in his own early elections.
Chirac was re-elected in 2002, but it was difficult. He had come under fire from the allegations of fraud and corruption. The rejection of the European constitution in May 2005 was indicative of the French ‘s declining faith in Chirac. On the other hand, Chirac won points with his tough line-up against the US-British invasion of Iraq in 2003.