There
France is in mourning. The former president of the republic,
Jacques Chirac died this Thursday, September 26, 2019. The spearhead of international opposition to the American invasion of Iraq, died at the age of 86. It was his family who announced the news to Agence France-Presse. \n\n
\n\n\n
France mourns Jacques Chirac
\n\n\nNews of the death of the president
J. Chirac is given to AFP by his son-in-law. Indeed,
Frederic Salat-Baroux declared to the
AFP that the former president
Chirac died “peacefully this morning among his loved ones”. Of course, he did not specify the cause of death. But since leaving office in 2007, President
Jacques Chirac had to deal with frequent health problems. While still president in 2005, Chirac suffered a stroke that left him hospitalized for a week. In 2008, he had a pacemaker inserted. \n\n\n\nBefore his death, Chirac had disappeared from the radar, making himself increasingly rare in front of the cameras. Moreover, in 2014 his wife declared that he had “memory problems” and no longer wanted to appear in public. And long before, in 2000, he himself declared: “I have had an interesting life, full of events and I am happy about it”. To all those who want to know who is
Jacques Chirac, he already replied: "Basically, it doesn't matter who he is in his private and intimate life. Only the political personality should interest us. When one assumes political responsibility, the main thing is that he makes himself understood. But if he can make himself loved, so much the better.” \n\n\n
A president appreciated by all French people but also abroad
\n\n\nBorn in Paris,
J. Chirac held a series of positions at the national level and in 1977 became the first elected mayor of the capital. He is considered by his detractors to be opportunistic and impulsive. But as president, he embodied the fierce independence so valued in France. Among other things, he defended agricultural subsidies against protests from the European Union. \n\n\n\n\n
