Former French first lady Bernadette Chirac dies aged 93

Bernadette Chirac, the widow of former French president Jacques Chirac, has died at the age of 93. Her daughter, Claude Chirac, confirmed the death to AFP on Saturday, stating that she passed away peacefully on Friday evening surrounded by loved ones.

Born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel in Paris in 1933, she grew up in a family of diplomats in the 16th arrondissement. She met Jacques Chirac while studying at Sciences Po university and married him in 1956. The couple remained together for more than 60 years, accompanying him through the various stages of his political career, including his victory in the 1995 presidential election.

Chirac was a distinctive figure in French public life, serving as a general councillor for the Corrèze department in central France from 1979 to 2015. This tenure made her France’s only first lady to have held political office in her own right. Her political acumen was noted by contemporaries, with Jacques Chirac later writing in his memoirs that she was the only one to warn him about the rise of National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen during the 2002 presidential election.

During her husband’s first term, she remained largely in the background, but she played a crucial role in his re-election campaign in 2002. She became particularly popular with the French public as the head of the Pièces Jaunes (Yellow Coins) campaign, which raised funds to benefit hospitalised children. She was also known for her conservative views, having previously warned against the dissolution of parliament in 1997.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Chirac on Saturday, describing her as a "great lady with a big heart" who left her mark on history. He saluted her work as an elected official in Corrèze and her commitment to the Fondation des Hôpitaux de Paris, noting that she changed many lives with discretion and determination.