France - Chirac
Chirac memoirs set to become best-seller
Article published on the 2009-11-05 Latest update 2009-11-05 12:32 TU
Chirac's memoirs
(Photo: Reuters)
The first book of a two-volume autobiography covers Chirac's childhood years in Correze in rural France and his rise to become an important figure in the Fifth Republic.
The 500-page book contains a number of swipes at fellow politicians and makes some surprising revelations about his private life. But it fails to mention the current corruption case that could send the former president to jail for up to 10 years.
Chirac is particularly bitter towards Valery Giscard d'Estaing for whom he served as prime minister at the age of 42 and later challenged for the presidency in 1981. He paints him as arrogant, vindictive and difficult to communicate with.
He describes president Nicolas Sarkozy as "nervous, overzealous and eager for action" and expresses disappointment that Sarkozy backed his rival Edouard Balladur for the presidency in 1981.
But there is praise for Georges Pompidou, who Chirac says was a father figure, and for late Socialist leader Francois Mitterrand. He says Mitterrand displayed a "tactical intelligence of the sort rarely seen in the world of politics".
In his autobiography, he candidly admits that his pursuit of power led him to neglect his family, including his daughters Claude and Laurence. The latter has been battling severe anorexia and mental illness for more than 30 years. Chirac also has a third adopted Vietnamese daughter, Anh-Dao Traxel.
Insights into his relationship with Nicolas Sarkozy will have to wait for the second volume of the autobiography which will focus on his 12 years of presidency up until 2007.
And despite his legal problems, Chirac has made a comeback in public opinion with some French voters feeling nostalgia for his less aggressive leadership style. A newspaper poll earlier this month rated Chirac as France's most popular politician.
