The last Russophile in Western politics and the first French president to receive a prison term is true, conditional. Jacques Chirac was a consistent supporter of gallism, he even tried to distance himself a little from the United States, not supporting the American invasion of Iraq. In domestic politics, he was a supporter of traditional right-wing liberalism, advocated for low tax rates and reduced government spending.
early years
Jacques Chirac was born on November 29, 1932 in Paris, in the family of a major banker. He was seven and a half years old when the French capital was occupied by the Germans. Life for most Parisians has not changed much, but the Chirac family left for the south, where they lived from 1940 to 1945. As a child, he was a little shy, which, however, did not prevent him from being mischievous and cocky. In one of the school photos, Jacques Chirac hid in the back row and could not be forced to stand in front, as the school teacher later recalled.
As a teenager, one of Jacques's teachers was a White Guard officer who instilled in him a love of Russian language and literature. He really liked Pushkin and he even translated the poem "Eugene Onegin" into French. True, the translation was published only when Jacques Chirac became a well-known politician.
Education
After studying at the most prestigious lyceums in France - Carnot and Louis-le-Grand (Louis the Great), he worked on the ship for three months. In 1954 he graduated from the Institute for Political Studies. During his studies, he repeatedly traveled to the United States and even studied at the Harvard University Summer School of Management. Already in these years, Jacques Chirac decided to pursue a career in politics, so he continued his studies at the National School of Administration (ENA). By tradition, graduates of this prestigious private university occupy most of France's top government posts. Former students of ENA, whom the French journalists nicknamed "enarchs, " form a closed caste, interconnected by special unwritten rules and customs.
In 1956-1957, Jacques Chirac served in the army, participated in the Algerian war, where he was seriously wounded. He was awarded the Cross of Military Valor for participating in hostilities.
Beginning of a labor and political career
The career biography of Jacques Chirac in the public service began in 1959 with the post of auditor of the State Audit Chamber - an important career step on the way to work in the country's government. Three years later, he became assistant chief of the General Secretariat of the administration of the French government. Here he became closely acquainted with the famous politician - Prime Minister J. Pompidou, who appreciated the energetic employee and soon appointed him the head of his staff.
On the advice of his patron, Chirac began political activity, becoming an activist, and then leader of the right-wing Gaullist party. In 1962, he was elected to the Municipal Council of Saint-Fereol, the homeland of his parents. He played an important role in the campaigns of Charles de Gaulle in 1965, and then Georges Pompidou. From the latter he received the nickname "bulldozer" for assertiveness and aggressiveness. Occasionally, however, they called him the “helicopter”, and journalists stuck to him the nickname “political animal”.
The rapid rise of the "bulldozer"
He soon took his first government post, becoming Secretary of State for Social Affairs. In any position, Chirac showed extraordinary vigor and did an excellent job with the tasks of his patron, especially if this required speed and onslaught. After Pompidou was elected President of France, Jacques Chirac becomes his closest ally.
He invariably held positions in all subsequent governments, rapidly moving up the ranks. Chirac worked first as Minister for Relations with the Parliament, then Agriculture, then Internal Affairs. All prophesied to him the position of the next prime minister, but President George Pompidou died in 1974. Chirac was very upset by the death of his teacher and friend, as a sign of mourning he wore a black tie for a year and did not consider it possible to continue working in the government.
On two armchairs
Having replaced Pompidou as the leader of the Gaullist Union of Democrats in Defense of the Republic, two years later he reformed into the Union for the Support of the Republic party. Which he led unchanged until 1994. The party supported the presidential election of Giscard d'Estaing, for which Jacques Chirac received the post of Prime Minister of France.
In 1977, he triumphantly won the mayor of Paris, the first in more than a hundred years - before that, mayors were elected only in the districts. He worked in this position until 1995. Under him, one of the dirtiest European capitals became a clean and comfortable city. In 1986-1988, he became Prime Minister for the second time, combining activities with the work of the Mayor of Paris. Chirac was the only one in the history of the Fifth Republic who was able to take this post again. In the 1988 presidential election, he stood for election against incumbent President Mitterrand. After losing, he was forced to resign.
Two terms
In 1995 and 2002, he won the presidential election. He faced the difficult tasks of changing the tax and educational system, reducing unemployment and creating a professional army. According to experts, President Jacques Chirac dealt with them quite poorly. New laws in this area and a reduction in government spending have caused widespread discontent among the population. Several times during his reign, ethnic unrest and student riots took place.
The foreign policy of France in those years was aimed at building a "multipolar world" and an attempt to return France to the status of a great power. Very popular in the country, Jacques Chirac made his decision not to support the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
