The Local France

France: Final farewell for Chirac in family's home village

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 12:02:54 +0200

Former French President Jacques Chirac's family bade him a final farewell Saturday at an intimate ceremony in the southwestern village where he grew up.

Former president Chirac still in hospital but wife home

Sat, 24 Sep 2016 16:51:03 +0200

Former French president Jacques Chirac remains in hospital in Paris where he is being treated for a lung infection, while his wife Bernadette has been discharged after four days recovering from "exhaustion", their family said Saturday.

Chirac's wife hospitalised while ex-president remains ill

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 10:23:14 +0200

The family of Jacques Chirac said Wednesday his wife Bernadette had also been hospitalised "suffering" from exhaustion, and quashed rumours that the 83-year-old former French president had died.

Former French president Chirac admitted to hospital

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 14:05:27 +0200

Former French president Jacques Chirac, 83, was admitted to hospital on Sunday with a lung infection, his son-in-law said.

Revealed: The huge cost of France's ex-presidents

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:36:47 +0100

The former presidents and prime ministers of France are still reeling in the big bucks, according to a new report.

France opens Vichy files to face its painful past

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 10:15:15 +0100

France's decision to open up archives from its World War II collaboration with Nazi occupiers is being seen as breaking one of the last taboos that has poisoned debate about the era for years.

TV crew stashed weed in Jacques Chirac's 'head'

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 17:49:00 +0100

The crew behind the famous French news puppet show "Les Guignols" have admitted how they once managed to take their huge stash of weed to the Cannes Film Festival without being caught by police - they hid it inside the head of the Jacques Chirac puppet.

Jacques Chirac home after brief hospital stay

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 22:01:00 +0100

Ailing former French President Jacques Chirac was discharged Monday night from hospital after a brief stay. The former head of state and ex-mayor of Paris has been in poor health in recent years.

The man who tried to kill the French president

Fri, 05 Jul 2013 16:01:00 +0200

Since gaining instant infamy in 2002 for trying to kill then French President Jacques Chirac, Maxime Brunerie claimed to have abandoned his neo-nazi past to become a devoted boyfriend. This week, doubt was cast over his redemption story.

Bernadette Chirac hits a deer on the motorway

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0200

A car carrying former first lady, Bernadette Chirac, ran over a deer near her home in Corrèze, central France, last night.

The unrivalled power of the French president

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:48:00 +0200

The French president enjoys powers unequalled in the democratic world, a situation strengthened by a decade-old reform that reduced the chances of "cohabitation" with a government of a different political hue.

Chirac 'will vote for Hollande' - claim

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:57:00 +0200

France's former right-wing president Jacques Chirac will vote for the Socialists' Francois Hollande in Sunday's first-round presidential vote, a newspaper Tuesday quoted a source close to him as saying.

Chirac escapes jail after guilty verdict

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:36:00 +0100

Popular former French president Jacques Chirac was convicted of graft on Thursday but escaped jail when he was handed a two-year suspended sentence for running ghost workers at Paris city hall.

French court to rule in Chirac corruption trial

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:02:00 +0100

Paris judges are to give their verdict on Thursday in the unprecedented corruption case against aged ex-leader Jacques Chirac, the first time a former French president has faced charges in court.

Prosecutor seeks Chirac acquittal in graft case

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:52:00 +0200

The Paris prosecutor on Tuesday asked for French former president Jacques Chirac and nine other accused to be acquitted in a graft trial relating to his time as Paris mayor.

African dirty cash scandal rocks France

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:11:00 +0200

African leaders gave French former president Jacques Chirac and possible presidential candidate Dominique de Villepin $20 million in cash, including to finance elections, a lawyer said Monday.

Lawyer claims Chirac took 'briefcases of cash'

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:44:00 +0200

African leaders gave former French president Jacques Chirac and his prime minister Dominique de Villepin briefcases full of cash, notably to finance election campaigns, a former aide alleged on Sunday.

Judges study Chirac charges in his absence

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:35:00 +0200

French judges began on Tuesday to wade into the evidence that former president Jacques Chirac presided over a network of ghost workers while mayor of Paris, but the suspect himself stayed away.

Judge excuses ailing Chirac from graft trial

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:24:00 +0200

A French court ruled on Monday that Jacques Chirac's embezzlement trial go ahead in his absence after a medical report said the 78-year-old former president was too unwell and suffered memory loss.

Trial opens for 'medically unfit' Chirac

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:11:00 +0200

Jacques Chirac's embezzlement trial opens on Monday with his lawyers arguing that the French former president is too unwell to attend but insisting that the case must still go ahead.