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End of an era

After forty years spent in the French political arena, President Jacques Chirac has finally decided to hang up his cleats. In a formidable political career that began in 1962 when he was named adviser to President Georges Pompidou, Mr. Chirac has triumphed time and again, burying opponents and surviving setbacks, including a crushing defeat in the 1997 general election. Four times candidate and twice elected President of France, three times Member of Parliament and Mayor of Paris, he has been described as the "eternal survivor." In a televised speech on Sunday, he bid goodbye to his people, speaking eloquently and with emotion of his "love for France" and telling his countrymen that he would now like to serve them in "other ways." His announcement was widely expected. His second term in office has been judged to be hesitant and lacklustre, marked by several electoral reverses, accusations of corruption, and a massive rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty.

A vital part of President Chirac's political legacy is his steadfast opposition to the war on Iraq and his rejection of American unilateralism. In 2003, he was one of few world leaders to openly warn of chaos and instability if Iraq were attacked. He went so far as to threaten the use of France's veto in the United Nations Security Council. His words of warning appear particularly prescient today. He was the first French leader to apologise for the collaborationist role of the French state during the Second World War. Throughout his career, he fought against extreme right nationalism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. Although critics described his 12 years in office as "a series of missed opportunities," few doubted his sincerity in discussing the plight of the homeless and the downtrodden. Charm and empathy are two qualities Jacques Chirac has had in abundance. He continues to be well liked and his support will certainly help the presidential candidate he chooses to anoint as his successor. The conservative frontrunner, Nicolas Sarkozy, Chirac's Interior Minister and prodigal son who wrested control of the political machine, is hoping for just such support. But the French President, wily to the last, has kept mum about the younger man whom he is reputed to admire and hate in equal measure. Jacques Chirac's departure will bring to an end an era in French politics — the era of a strong state and generous welfare policies. Whether his successor, faced with high unemployment, globalisation, and the flight of jobs and capital, will opt for more state control or market-friendly reforms depends on whom the French choose as Mr. Chirac's successor in the May 6 presidential election.

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