Chirac's former ministers, people on Paris streets remember former French president

Record ID: 1433804

  • Title: Chirac's former ministers, people on Paris streets remember former French president
  • Date: 27th September 2019
  • Summary: EXTERIOR OF ELYSEE PALACE PEOPLE IN STREET PEOPLE LOOKING AT METRO MAP MAN CLEANING BUS STOP WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS RESIDENT WHO WORKS AT THE COUNCIL OF STATE, CATHERINE FERLOTTI, SAYING: "An immense sadness because he was a very emblematic political figure, he represented France. I'm very very sad, a great historical figure has left us." (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS RESIDENT WHO WORKS AS A TEACHER, FRANCOIS VALLET, SAYING: "He marks the end of a time where politics got a bit mangled meaning that it was in the hands of certain people who weren't always doing honest things." (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS RESIDENT, CHAKIP BERRCHID, SAYING: "I think it's a great loss because I think he was the only French president who was a pacifist. He didn't go to war with the allies in Iraq. I think he was a great politician, that's all." CARS IN STREET
  • Embargoed: 11th October 2019 09:51
  • Keywords: Jacques Chirac Dominique de Villepin Alain Juppe French president Iraq war
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE / SEVILLE, SPAIN / NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE / SEVILLE, SPAIN / NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00FAYFMCLJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: SEE EDIT 8055-PEOPLE-JACQUES CHIRAC/FILE SENT ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 FOR ARCHIVE IMAGES OF CHIRAC AS PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER AND PARIS MAYOR
    Former ministers who served under late Jacques Chirac paid a homage on Friday (September 27) to his humanistic skills and statesman talent, as French newspapers front pages were covered with photos of the former French president who passed away on Thursday, aged 86.
    Dominique de Villepin, who served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2004, said he owed everything to Chirac who, he said, "deep down resembled all French people".
    Chirac was president from 1995 to 2007. He shaped his style in the mould of post-war leader Charles de Gaulle, seeking to strengthen France's status as a player on the world stage and was best remembered for his opposition to the war in Iraq.
    Villepin said Chirac refused to join then-U.S. President George W. Bush's coalition in Iraq because he knew the former president's dream of pacifying Iraq was "built on sand".
    Another of Chirac's former Prime Ministers, Alain Juppe also paid tribute to the former president, praising his spontaneity, warmth - and his large appetite. "For Chirac a sandwich was an entire baguette filled with rillettes," Juppe told French radio France Inter.
    Ordinary Parisians had more mixed reactions to Chirac's death, remembering his long political career, but also the embezzlement scandal that landed him a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2011.
    Chirac passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones, his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told Reuters.
    Mayor of Paris for 18 years and prime minister for presidents on the political left and right before entering the Elysee Palace himself, Chirac had a knack for connecting with voters, particularly in rural France.
    President Emmanuel Macron declared a national day of mourning for Monday and the doors of the Elysee were opened on Thursday evening to allow people to pay respect to the former president until Sunday.
    (Production: Antony Paone, Noemie Olive, Pascale Antonie, Kathryn Carlson)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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