FRANCE: French centrist candidate Francois Bayrou pays tribute to Chirac

Centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou praises veteran French President Jacques Chirac for being the voice of France during the Iraq crisis. Centrist Presidential candidate Francois Bayrou paid tribute on Monday (March 12) to President Jacques Chirac on an Internet radio programme about the declining living conditions in French suburban areas. Despite his battles with Chirac over the years, Bayrou acknowledged the president's effort to bring French people together during his time in office. "And this is a man who has always had the concern of not dividing France, this is already a lot. So for the rest, I strongly disagree with the way he has conducted the country's affairs," Bayrou said. The centrist leader said Chirac's refusal to send French troops to Iraq deserved a sign of recognition even from political enemies. "But sometimes, we can also give signs which are not signs of constant conflict," said Bayrou. "At the same time, a sign to someone who said, during the Iraq crisis, on behalf of France what had to be said," the UDF party leader said. The head of France's Socialist Party said its candidate Segolene Royal could lose out to Bayrou in the first round of the presidential election next month unless the whole party rallied around her. Royal's campaign has failed to take off and she has consistently trailed conservative Nicolas Sarkozy in opinion polls since the start of the year. Bayrou's dramatic advance has raised fears among Socialists of a repeat of April 2002, when their candidate Lionel Jospin was eliminated in the first round by far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. GD/AD

ITN Source | March 13, 2007

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