Chirac still in hospital as rival squares up
French President Jacques Chirac remained hospitalised for a third day today with a blood vessel problem as the head of his political party said no one would stop his quest for the presidency in two years’ time.
Chirac, 72, was taken to a Paris military hospital late on Friday after suffering a blood vessel problem that was hindering his eyesight, but was already eager to leave, the prime minister said yesterday.
His wife, Bernadette, was seen leaving Val-de-Grace military hospital in southern Paris this afternoon, but she did not speak to reporters. French radio reports said that she had returned today from a holiday in south-east France, appearing to indicate she was not overly concerned about her husband’s condition.
The presidential palace did not provide immediate comment on his condition, and the hospital did not issue a communique about his health.
With Chirac sidelined, the popular leader of his conservative political party, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, told party faithful that no one would stop his quest for the presidency in 2007.
In a boisterous speech to cheering members of the Union for a Popular Movement in the Atlantic coastal resort of La Baule, Sarkozy promised a “healthy, loyal and quality” competition in the race.
“Nobody, really nobody, will stop me from completing the mission that you have set for me,” he said, calling for a “strategy of rupture” – a seeming call to break with policies of Chirac, his former mentor.
Sarkozy is often depicted in polls and French media as the front-runner for the 2007 contest. But polls show the popularity of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin – a fellow conservative viewed as Chirac’s top protégé – has been rising since he took office in May.
“We need to invent a new French model,” Sarkozy said – a sharp contrast to recent calls from Villepin to “modernise” France’s economic strategy, which is known for costly social protections.
Sarkozy, the government’s No 2 official, said he would strive to deserve the confidence of the French “and try to be up to the challenge of 2007 appointments” – in legislative and presidential elections.
Although Sarkozy has never hidden his presidential ambitions, choosing a candidate for an election would be up to the party. There are still questions as to whether Chirac will run for a third term, or whether Villepin will enter the race in 2007.
