Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician and a former President of France. He served from 1995 to 2007 & he was re-elected in 2002.
Chirac to Face Judges Over Party Funding Scandal, Says Lawyer
France's former president, Jacques Chirac, is to be questioned by judges over a party funding scandal dating back to his time as Paris mayor, his lawyer said yesterday.
Chirac to Be Interviewed Over Charges of Corruption
Jacques Chirac, the former president of France, will be interviewed on corruption charges in the coming weeks, it was revealed yesterday.
The News Through French Eyes: Chirac Tv Takes on 'anglo-saxon Imperialism'
President Jacques Chirac's decade-old dream of a "CNN à la Française" to rival BBC World and US 24-hours news channels is finally to launch after years of wrangling and in-fighting, promising a revolution in world news.
Chirac's Town Hall Wine Collection to Go Under the Hammer
The sophisticated tastes of the famously indulgent French president Jacques Chirac will be available for all to sample later this month when around £400,000 of wine from his cellar at Paris town hall will be auctioned.
Critics Accuse Chirac of Appointing Close Ally to Top Legal Post to Escape Charges
The French president, Jacques Chirac, was yesterday accused of appointing a close ally to one of the country's top judicial posts to dodge corruption charges when his presidential immunity ends next year.
Chirac Allies on Trial Over Alleged Paris Vote-rigging
Allies of President Jacques Chirac yesterday went on trial over alleged vote-rigging in Paris while he was mayor.
Chirac Offer of 2,000 Troops Breaks Impasse on Lebanon Peacekeepers
The French president, Jacques Chirac, opened the way for the formation of a 15,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force for Lebanon last night by promising France would contribute 2,000 troops.
Chirac to Send 200 Extra Troops to Lebanon
The French president, Jacques Chirac, said tonight that France will commit an additional 200 troops to a strengthened UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
Chirac Keeps Options Open on Third Term
The French president, Jacques Chirac, gave what was probably his last Bastille Day address to the nation yesterday, vowing to put his final months in office to good use and stop France falling into political paralysis.
Chirac Hopes to Cash in on Football Success
Soccer: World Cup: President Jacques Chirac will don his football scarf and head to Berlin on Sunday in the hope that a French World Cup win could boost his flagging popularity ratings.
Chirac Opens Indigenous Museum in Paris
The French president, Jacques Chirac, unveiled his great cultural legacy to the country today, a new museum for indigenous art which he promised would inspire "peace and tolerance" in the world.
Chirac Rejects Calls for De Villepin's Resignation
In his first statement on the political scandal threatening to engulf his government, the French president, Jacques Chirac, rebuffed calls for his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, to resign yesterday.
Chirac Congratulates Prodi on Election Win
The French president, Jacques Chirac, today became the first foreign leader to congratulate Romano Prodi on his narrow win in the Italian general election.
Chirac Leaves Controversial Legacy With Monument to African and Asian Culture
The French president Jacques Chirac is about to unveil what he hopes will be his greatest legacy to the nation - a €260m (£180m) riverside monument to himself as the "great defender" of African and Asian indigenous culture.
Chirac Vows to Fight Growing Use of English
Jacques Chirac pledged yesterday to fight the spread of the English language across the world as he defended his decision to walk out of an EU summit after a French business leader abandoned his mother tongue.
Chirac Leaves Eu Summit As Frenchman Speaks English
Jacques Chirac led a French walkout from the opening session of the EU's annual spring summit last night when a fellow Frenchman committed the grave offence of speaking English.
Chirac Denies Racism Charge Over Mittal
The French president, Jacques Chirac, rejected charges today of racism in European reaction to Mittal Steel's bid for its Luxembourg-based rival, Arcelor.
Chirac Prepared to Use Nuclear Strike Against Terror States
Jacques Chirac said yesterday that France was prepared to use nuclear weapons against any country that carried out a state-sponsored terrorist attack against it.
Chirac Tried to Win Da Vinci Role for Friend of His Daughter
President Jacques Chirac reportedly tried to persuade the Oscar-winning director and producer of The Da Vinci Code to give the leading female role to one of his daughter's actor friends.
Chirac Tells Blair to Try Harder on Eu Budget
Jacques Chirac last night told Tony Blair to give more ground on Britain's £3.8bn rebate if he wanted a deal on the EU budget.
Poll Shows 72% Believe Chirac Has Lost Authority
President Jacques Chirac will celebrate his 73rd birthday tomorrow knowing that 72% of the French believe he now has little or no influence over the country.
Chirac Admits Riots Had 'exposed Inequality'
Jacques Chirac yesterday acknowledged that the urban violence in France had exposed the "undeniable problems" faced by many inhabitants of immigrant communities, and said that they had to be responded to quickly.
Chirac: France Must Learn Hard Lessons
Jacques Chirac today urged France to learn lessons from its fortnight of rioting as eight police officers were suspended over the beating of a man in suburban Paris on Monday. In what was only his second statement on the crisis, the French president told a news conference difficult...
Chirac Calls Emergency Meeting of Top Ministers
President Jacques Chirac called an emergency meeting of his top ministers last night as urban unrest escalated further, touching the historic heart of Paris for the first time.
Blair and Chirac Call Truce to Aid Eu Harmony
Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac pledged yesterday to set aside their differences and try to serve as "forces of harmony, not division" for a battered European Union badly in need of a "progressive vision".
Sarkozy Wishes Ailing Chirac Well But Steps Up Poll Challenge
Jacques Chirac was in a "very satisfactory" condition, his doctors said yesterday after the French president spent his second night in a Paris military hospital with blood vessel problems that had slightly impaired his sight.
Chirac Illness Puts Re-election at Risk
Jacques Chirac was in "very satisfactory" condition, his doctors said yesterday after the French president spent his second night in a Paris military hospital with blood vessel problems that had slightly impaired his sight.
Sick Chirac in Hospital for a Week
President Jacques Chirac has been admitted to hospital for at least a week with a blood vessel problem in his eye that could have been caused by a stroke, it was revealed last night.
Chirac Clears Poverty Tax for Takeoff
France plans to launch a 'solidarity tax' on airline tickets as early as next year to help fund the global fight against poverty, Jacques Chirac said yesterday.
Turkey's Eu Dream Dealt Double Blow As Chirac and Merkel Raise Doubts
Turkey's 40-year dream of joining the European family suffered a double blow yesterday when Jacques Chirac and Angela Merkel, Germany's conservative leader, raised serious doubts about forthcoming talks on EU membership.
Sarkozy Puts the Boot in As Chirac Falters
It is not much fun being Jacques Chirac now. Deeply unpopular at home, his only chance of adulation will come this week when his plane lands in Madagascar for a two-day state visit.
Chirac silent on third term
Jacques Chirac refused to say yesterday whether he would stand for a third term as president in 2007. In a Bastille Day interview on French television, he said it was too soon to announce his decision.
'Sharp Disagreement' at Blair-chirac Talks
Tony Blair tonight emerged from face to face talks with the French president, Jacques Chirac, with no deal in sight over Britain's rebate from the EU budget.
Blair Urges Chirac to Be Realistic on Rebate
Britain's row with France over the £3.2bn EU budget rebate escalated yesterday when Tony Blair called on Jacques Chirac to be 'realistic' about his demands for a British gesture.
Chirac's Popularity Hits Record Low
Jacques Chirac is the most unpopular president of the Fifth Republic since pollsters began measuring the personal approval ratings of French politicians in 1978, according to a survey published yesterday.
Chirac in Last-ditch Bid to Win Yes Vote
Opinion polls clearly signal that France will reject the European constitution treaty and last-minute efforts by president Jacques Chirac were given little chance of bringing about a change of heart.
Desperate Chirac in Final Plea for Eu Yes
Jacques Chirac made a final attempt last night to reverse French determination to reject the EU constitution, imploring voters 'not to answer the wrong question'.
Chirac: French Reputation at Stake in Eu Treaty Vote
The French president, Jacques Chirac, warned last night that France would no longer be taken seriously on the international stage if it rejected the European constitution on May 29.
Schröder Comes to Aid of Chirac's Campaign for Eu Constitution
Jacques Chirac's campaign to persuade a wilful French electorate to vote yes to the EU constitution got a much-needed shot in the arm yesterday from his strongest European ally, Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Chirac Appeals for Eu Yes Vote
Jacques Chirac launched his campaign to convince a recalcitrant French public to vote yes to the EU constitution last night, telling a hand-picked audience of 83 young people in a live TV debate that they had nothing to fear from the treaty.
Chirac Seeks to Salvage Eu Constitution
President Jacques Chirac begins his attempt to reverse the rising tide of French opinion against Europe's constitution tomorrow as he launches a campaign which may well determine the future shape of the union.
Chirac Takes Aim at Eu Liberals in Race to Win Yes Vote
Jacques Chirac went on the warpath against European liberals yesterday in an attempt to shore up his faltering campaign for a yes vote in the French referendum on the EU constitution.
Sleaze Trial Swirls Around Chirac
£60m city hall bribes case opens. The shadow of Jacques Chirac will loom large over a Paris courtroom today when 47 people, including some of the president's closest former allies, go on trial over a vast kickback scheme allegedly run from city hall while he was mayor.
Jacques Chirac Reaches 40 Years in Public Office
Today, Jacques Chirac reaches 40 years in public office. So how did the fickle, food-loving president do it - and what has he achieved?
Chirac Calls Snap Vote on Eu Constitution
Jacques Chirac yesterday called a snap referendum on the European Union constitution amid increasing concern that France's voters will turn against the proposal and effectively kill the treaty.
Jacques-in-the-box
The Paris rumour-mill is churning at full speed this week, fed by the alarming but entirely plausible news that Jacques Chirac is thinking more and more seriously of standing for re-election in a little over two years' time - a few weeks short of his 75th birthday.
Chirac Warns Journalists to Stay Away
President Jacques Chirac warned French journalists not to travel to Iraq yesterday, amid growing concern for the fate of a French reporter who disappeared three days ago.
Chirac Calls for Improved Security After Nurses Killed
President Jacques Chirac called for 'wholesale changes' in France's mental health sector yesterday as hospitals throughout the country held a minute's silence in memory of two nurses hacked to death at a psychiatric unit at the weekend.
Chirac to Make Case on Tv for Eu-turkey Talks
President Jacques Chirac is so concerned about French hostility to Turkey joining the EU that he has taken the step of asking to be interviewed on the subject on the TF1 television news tonight.
Chirac's Would-be Assassin Jailed
A young neo-Nazi sympathiser who took a shot at President Jacques Chirac during France's Bastille Day parade two years ago was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison.
Allegations of Vote-rigging Haunt Chirac
A public prosecutor in Paris said yesterday that 12 past and present officials from Jacques Chirac's UMP party would appear in court next year after allegations of vote-rigging in the capital in the days when the French president was its mayor.
World More Dangerous, Warns Chirac
The French president, Jacques Chirac, expressed fresh doubts about the invasion of Iraq on the eve of his visit today to Britain, saying it had left "the world more dangerous".
Chirac: Iraq War Has Made World More Dangerous
The US-led war in Iraq, fought to remove Saddam Hussein from power, has made the world a more dangerous place, the French president, Jacques Chirac, said on the eve of a state visit to Britain.
Chirac Vows to Prevent 'anarchy' in Ivory Coast
The French president, Jacques Chirac, vowed yesterday to keep his troops in Ivory Coast to prevent the former colony from sliding into anarchy or fascism, and condemned the "questionable regime" of the country's president. His pledge came shortly before African leaders attending a summit...
Chirac to Skip Eu Meeting With Allawi
Jacques Chirac, the French president, is to miss an EU summit meeting today with the interim Iraqi prime minister, Ayad Allawi. Aides to Mr Chirac, an opponent of the US-led war, denied the move was a snub but divisions over Iraq and the EU's troubled relations with the re-elected US...
Chirac Agrees to a Vote on Eu Treaty
Jacques Chirac bowed to pressure from across the political spectrum by announcing yesterday that France would hold a referendum on whether to adopt the European constitution, signalling the start of a fraught campaign to ensure the government secures a yes vote. Ending months of...
Unrepentant Chirac Clashes With Us Again
George Bush and Jacques Chirac yesterday clashed sharply for the second day running at Nato's Istanbul summit, squabbling publicly over Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey's place in Europe. The French president undermined hopes of burying transatlantic disagreements when he insisted he was...
Chirac Clears Route to the Presidency for Bitterest Rival
But Sarkozy told to quit cabinet to lead party. Jacques Chirac has bowed to the inevitable and given his hugely popular presidential rival Nicolas Sarkozy the green light to seek the leadership of his party, the UMP, political sources said yesterday.
Poll Confirms Sarkozy is Poised to Succeed Chirac
Nicolas Sarkozy's status as the leading contender to succeed Jacques Chirac in France's 2007 presidential elections was confirmed yesterday.
Chirac Isolated As His Party Votes for Eu Referendum
The pressure on Jacques Chirac to hold a referendum on the European constitution was mounting yesterday after his party voted in favour of the poll. The national executive of the centre-right UMP voted to campaign for a referendum in the run-up to the European elections on June 10-13 -...
Chirac Rejects French Eu Vote
The French president Jacques Chirac yesterday refused to commit to holding a referendum on the EU's controversial new constitution, but joined forces with one of his predecessors to say a "no" vote in Britain would not mean it would have to leave the club. In a rare televised press...
President Jacques Chirac's decade-old dream of a "CNN à la Française" to rival BBC World and US 24-hours news channels is finally to launch after years of wrangling and in-fighting, promising a revolution in world news.
Chirac's Town Hall Wine Collection to Go Under the Hammer
The sophisticated tastes of the famously indulgent French president Jacques Chirac will be available for all to sample later this month when around £400,000 of wine from his cellar at Paris town hall will be auctioned.
Critics Accuse Chirac of Appointing Close Ally to Top Legal Post to Escape Charges
The French president, Jacques Chirac, was yesterday accused of appointing a close ally to one of the country's top judicial posts to dodge corruption charges when his presidential immunity ends next year.
Chirac Allies on Trial Over Alleged Paris Vote-rigging
Allies of President Jacques Chirac yesterday went on trial over alleged vote-rigging in Paris while he was mayor.
Chirac Offer of 2,000 Troops Breaks Impasse on Lebanon Peacekeepers
The French president, Jacques Chirac, opened the way for the formation of a 15,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force for Lebanon last night by promising France would contribute 2,000 troops.
Chirac to Send 200 Extra Troops to Lebanon
The French president, Jacques Chirac, said tonight that France will commit an additional 200 troops to a strengthened UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
Chirac Keeps Options Open on Third Term
The French president, Jacques Chirac, gave what was probably his last Bastille Day address to the nation yesterday, vowing to put his final months in office to good use and stop France falling into political paralysis.
Chirac Hopes to Cash in on Football Success
Soccer: World Cup: President Jacques Chirac will don his football scarf and head to Berlin on Sunday in the hope that a French World Cup win could boost his flagging popularity ratings.
Chirac Opens Indigenous Museum in Paris
The French president, Jacques Chirac, unveiled his great cultural legacy to the country today, a new museum for indigenous art which he promised would inspire "peace and tolerance" in the world.
Chirac Rejects Calls for De Villepin's Resignation
In his first statement on the political scandal threatening to engulf his government, the French president, Jacques Chirac, rebuffed calls for his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, to resign yesterday.
Chirac Congratulates Prodi on Election Win
The French president, Jacques Chirac, today became the first foreign leader to congratulate Romano Prodi on his narrow win in the Italian general election.
Chirac Leaves Controversial Legacy With Monument to African and Asian Culture
The French president Jacques Chirac is about to unveil what he hopes will be his greatest legacy to the nation - a €260m (£180m) riverside monument to himself as the "great defender" of African and Asian indigenous culture.
Chirac Vows to Fight Growing Use of English
Jacques Chirac pledged yesterday to fight the spread of the English language across the world as he defended his decision to walk out of an EU summit after a French business leader abandoned his mother tongue.
Chirac Leaves Eu Summit As Frenchman Speaks English
Jacques Chirac led a French walkout from the opening session of the EU's annual spring summit last night when a fellow Frenchman committed the grave offence of speaking English.
Chirac Denies Racism Charge Over Mittal
The French president, Jacques Chirac, rejected charges today of racism in European reaction to Mittal Steel's bid for its Luxembourg-based rival, Arcelor.
Chirac Prepared to Use Nuclear Strike Against Terror States
Jacques Chirac said yesterday that France was prepared to use nuclear weapons against any country that carried out a state-sponsored terrorist attack against it.
Chirac Tried to Win Da Vinci Role for Friend of His Daughter
President Jacques Chirac reportedly tried to persuade the Oscar-winning director and producer of The Da Vinci Code to give the leading female role to one of his daughter's actor friends.
Chirac Tells Blair to Try Harder on Eu Budget
Jacques Chirac last night told Tony Blair to give more ground on Britain's £3.8bn rebate if he wanted a deal on the EU budget.
Poll Shows 72% Believe Chirac Has Lost Authority
President Jacques Chirac will celebrate his 73rd birthday tomorrow knowing that 72% of the French believe he now has little or no influence over the country.
Chirac Admits Riots Had 'exposed Inequality'
Jacques Chirac yesterday acknowledged that the urban violence in France had exposed the "undeniable problems" faced by many inhabitants of immigrant communities, and said that they had to be responded to quickly.
Chirac: France Must Learn Hard Lessons
Jacques Chirac today urged France to learn lessons from its fortnight of rioting as eight police officers were suspended over the beating of a man in suburban Paris on Monday. In what was only his second statement on the crisis, the French president told a news conference difficult...
Chirac Calls Emergency Meeting of Top Ministers
President Jacques Chirac called an emergency meeting of his top ministers last night as urban unrest escalated further, touching the historic heart of Paris for the first time.
Blair and Chirac Call Truce to Aid Eu Harmony
Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac pledged yesterday to set aside their differences and try to serve as "forces of harmony, not division" for a battered European Union badly in need of a "progressive vision".
Sarkozy Wishes Ailing Chirac Well But Steps Up Poll Challenge
Jacques Chirac was in a "very satisfactory" condition, his doctors said yesterday after the French president spent his second night in a Paris military hospital with blood vessel problems that had slightly impaired his sight.
Chirac Illness Puts Re-election at Risk
Jacques Chirac was in "very satisfactory" condition, his doctors said yesterday after the French president spent his second night in a Paris military hospital with blood vessel problems that had slightly impaired his sight.
Sick Chirac in Hospital for a Week
President Jacques Chirac has been admitted to hospital for at least a week with a blood vessel problem in his eye that could have been caused by a stroke, it was revealed last night.
Chirac Clears Poverty Tax for Takeoff
France plans to launch a 'solidarity tax' on airline tickets as early as next year to help fund the global fight against poverty, Jacques Chirac said yesterday.
Turkey's Eu Dream Dealt Double Blow As Chirac and Merkel Raise Doubts
Turkey's 40-year dream of joining the European family suffered a double blow yesterday when Jacques Chirac and Angela Merkel, Germany's conservative leader, raised serious doubts about forthcoming talks on EU membership.
Sarkozy Puts the Boot in As Chirac Falters
It is not much fun being Jacques Chirac now. Deeply unpopular at home, his only chance of adulation will come this week when his plane lands in Madagascar for a two-day state visit.
Chirac silent on third term
Jacques Chirac refused to say yesterday whether he would stand for a third term as president in 2007. In a Bastille Day interview on French television, he said it was too soon to announce his decision.
'Sharp Disagreement' at Blair-chirac Talks
Tony Blair tonight emerged from face to face talks with the French president, Jacques Chirac, with no deal in sight over Britain's rebate from the EU budget.
Blair Urges Chirac to Be Realistic on Rebate
Britain's row with France over the £3.2bn EU budget rebate escalated yesterday when Tony Blair called on Jacques Chirac to be 'realistic' about his demands for a British gesture.
Chirac's Popularity Hits Record Low
Jacques Chirac is the most unpopular president of the Fifth Republic since pollsters began measuring the personal approval ratings of French politicians in 1978, according to a survey published yesterday.
Chirac in Last-ditch Bid to Win Yes Vote
Opinion polls clearly signal that France will reject the European constitution treaty and last-minute efforts by president Jacques Chirac were given little chance of bringing about a change of heart.
Desperate Chirac in Final Plea for Eu Yes
Jacques Chirac made a final attempt last night to reverse French determination to reject the EU constitution, imploring voters 'not to answer the wrong question'.
Chirac: French Reputation at Stake in Eu Treaty Vote
The French president, Jacques Chirac, warned last night that France would no longer be taken seriously on the international stage if it rejected the European constitution on May 29.
Schröder Comes to Aid of Chirac's Campaign for Eu Constitution
Jacques Chirac's campaign to persuade a wilful French electorate to vote yes to the EU constitution got a much-needed shot in the arm yesterday from his strongest European ally, Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Chirac Appeals for Eu Yes Vote
Jacques Chirac launched his campaign to convince a recalcitrant French public to vote yes to the EU constitution last night, telling a hand-picked audience of 83 young people in a live TV debate that they had nothing to fear from the treaty.
Chirac Seeks to Salvage Eu Constitution
President Jacques Chirac begins his attempt to reverse the rising tide of French opinion against Europe's constitution tomorrow as he launches a campaign which may well determine the future shape of the union.
Chirac Takes Aim at Eu Liberals in Race to Win Yes Vote
Jacques Chirac went on the warpath against European liberals yesterday in an attempt to shore up his faltering campaign for a yes vote in the French referendum on the EU constitution.
Sleaze Trial Swirls Around Chirac
£60m city hall bribes case opens. The shadow of Jacques Chirac will loom large over a Paris courtroom today when 47 people, including some of the president's closest former allies, go on trial over a vast kickback scheme allegedly run from city hall while he was mayor.
Jacques Chirac Reaches 40 Years in Public Office
Today, Jacques Chirac reaches 40 years in public office. So how did the fickle, food-loving president do it - and what has he achieved?
Chirac Calls Snap Vote on Eu Constitution
Jacques Chirac yesterday called a snap referendum on the European Union constitution amid increasing concern that France's voters will turn against the proposal and effectively kill the treaty.
Jacques-in-the-box
The Paris rumour-mill is churning at full speed this week, fed by the alarming but entirely plausible news that Jacques Chirac is thinking more and more seriously of standing for re-election in a little over two years' time - a few weeks short of his 75th birthday.
Chirac Warns Journalists to Stay Away
President Jacques Chirac warned French journalists not to travel to Iraq yesterday, amid growing concern for the fate of a French reporter who disappeared three days ago.
Chirac Calls for Improved Security After Nurses Killed
President Jacques Chirac called for 'wholesale changes' in France's mental health sector yesterday as hospitals throughout the country held a minute's silence in memory of two nurses hacked to death at a psychiatric unit at the weekend.
Chirac to Make Case on Tv for Eu-turkey Talks
President Jacques Chirac is so concerned about French hostility to Turkey joining the EU that he has taken the step of asking to be interviewed on the subject on the TF1 television news tonight.
Chirac's Would-be Assassin Jailed
A young neo-Nazi sympathiser who took a shot at President Jacques Chirac during France's Bastille Day parade two years ago was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison.
Allegations of Vote-rigging Haunt Chirac
A public prosecutor in Paris said yesterday that 12 past and present officials from Jacques Chirac's UMP party would appear in court next year after allegations of vote-rigging in the capital in the days when the French president was its mayor.
World More Dangerous, Warns Chirac
The French president, Jacques Chirac, expressed fresh doubts about the invasion of Iraq on the eve of his visit today to Britain, saying it had left "the world more dangerous".
Chirac: Iraq War Has Made World More Dangerous
The US-led war in Iraq, fought to remove Saddam Hussein from power, has made the world a more dangerous place, the French president, Jacques Chirac, said on the eve of a state visit to Britain.
Chirac Vows to Prevent 'anarchy' in Ivory Coast
The French president, Jacques Chirac, vowed yesterday to keep his troops in Ivory Coast to prevent the former colony from sliding into anarchy or fascism, and condemned the "questionable regime" of the country's president. His pledge came shortly before African leaders attending a summit...
Chirac to Skip Eu Meeting With Allawi
Jacques Chirac, the French president, is to miss an EU summit meeting today with the interim Iraqi prime minister, Ayad Allawi. Aides to Mr Chirac, an opponent of the US-led war, denied the move was a snub but divisions over Iraq and the EU's troubled relations with the re-elected US...
Chirac Agrees to a Vote on Eu Treaty
Jacques Chirac bowed to pressure from across the political spectrum by announcing yesterday that France would hold a referendum on whether to adopt the European constitution, signalling the start of a fraught campaign to ensure the government secures a yes vote. Ending months of...
Unrepentant Chirac Clashes With Us Again
George Bush and Jacques Chirac yesterday clashed sharply for the second day running at Nato's Istanbul summit, squabbling publicly over Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey's place in Europe. The French president undermined hopes of burying transatlantic disagreements when he insisted he was...
Chirac Clears Route to the Presidency for Bitterest Rival
But Sarkozy told to quit cabinet to lead party. Jacques Chirac has bowed to the inevitable and given his hugely popular presidential rival Nicolas Sarkozy the green light to seek the leadership of his party, the UMP, political sources said yesterday.
Poll Confirms Sarkozy is Poised to Succeed Chirac
Nicolas Sarkozy's status as the leading contender to succeed Jacques Chirac in France's 2007 presidential elections was confirmed yesterday.
Chirac Isolated As His Party Votes for Eu Referendum
The pressure on Jacques Chirac to hold a referendum on the European constitution was mounting yesterday after his party voted in favour of the poll. The national executive of the centre-right UMP voted to campaign for a referendum in the run-up to the European elections on June 10-13 -...
Chirac Rejects French Eu Vote
The French president Jacques Chirac yesterday refused to commit to holding a referendum on the EU's controversial new constitution, but joined forces with one of his predecessors to say a "no" vote in Britain would not mean it would have to leave the club. In a rare televised press...