Hospitalisation 'not hindering' Chirac's work
French President Jacques Chirac spent his third full day in the hospital today, as aides delivered him paperwork and said he was fully capable of carrying out his duties.
Chirac, 72, was hospitalised on Friday evening after noticing trouble with his eyesight that doctors attributed to a blood vessel problem.
Chirac’s condition was “very satisfactory”, Val de Grace military hospital said yesterday, adding that he would remain under medical supervision for several days. His meetings have been cancelled, including one with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that was scheduled for tomorrow.
Frederic Salat-Baroux, secretary-general of the presidential Elysee palace, visited Chirac to deliver files related to the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, his office said. In Chirac’s absence, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin will chair the meeting.
Villepin, before visiting the hospital on Saturday, said Chirac had suffered a “small vascular incident".
He said he saw the president “standing, walking in his room, and talking about the major issues” – including French aid to the US to help cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Valerie Pecresse, spokeswoman of Chirac’s conservative political party, sought to play down concern that his illness could mark a turning point in his political career.
She said Chirac had received a stream of visits from aides, showing that he was “fully” capable of governing and that “there is absolutely no gap in the exercise of power”.
The president’s hospitalisation has focused attention on possible changes in France’s political scene, which Chirac has dominated for a decade.
Newspapers today focused on what appears to be a growing battle between Villepin and the ambitious interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy – both members of Chirac’s party – to succeed Chirac.
“Duel at the bedside” read a front page headline in the left-leaning Liberation newspaper above a cartoon depicting Villepin and Sarkozy as vultures perched on Chirac’s hospital bed.
Opinion polls have shown Chirac’s popularity near an all-time low, and some members of his conservative party are distancing themselves from him. Questions remain about whether Chirac will enter the 2007 election race to seek a third term.
