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PARIS: French President Jacques Chirac has announced that he will not seek a third term in elections this year, using a televised address to urge France to believe in itself and support a strong European Union.
Before Sunday's announcement, observers had said it was unlikely Chirac would run again after 12 years in office, given his age and low popularity ratings. But the conservative Chirac, 74, kept France guessing about his intentions until just six weeks before the election.
"Serving France, and serving peace, is what I have committed my whole life to," Chirac said, adding that he would find new ways to serve France after leaving office. He did not explain the reasons for his decision.
In the 10-minute address, Chirac laid out ideas about France's future. He urged the French to reject extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. He asked France to support a strong European Union, to work to improve life in the developing world and to help the environment.
He also urged France to believe in itself.
"We have so many trump cards," he said. "We must not fear the world's evolution. This new world, we must embrace it. We must continue to put our mark on it."
Chirac stressed his belief that an unbridled free market was not the right path for globalization.
"It would be immoral and dangerous to allow the gap to grow — through the influence of unbridled (economic) liberalism — between the part of the world that is more and more rich, and the billions of men, women and children who are abandoned to misery and despair," Chirac said.
Ahead of the April 22-May 6 two-round presidential vote, most on the French right have already swung their support to Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy is the leader in the polls.
Chirac did not make an endorsement announcement Sunday, preferring to focus on his legacy and ideas for France's future. Chirac said he would address that question at another time.
Without Chirac, France will almost certainly get its first leader born after World War II — most likely Sarkozy, 52, Socialist Segolene Royal, 53, or possibly centrist Francois Bayrou, 55.
A poll published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper suggested that Sarkozy leads the pack of France's presidential candidates, with Royal and Bayrou tied in second place. Bayrou's recent rise in popularity has been significant, since previous polls have suggested he could beat either Sarkozy or Royal if he manages to make it to the runoff.
Bayrou said he agreed with Chirac's ideas for France's future, while other political opponents criticized Chirac for failing to make a major mark on France.
"While you have to respect the person and his position, (Chirac's) record during his long presidency is such that he could not have tried for a new mandate," Francois Hollande, leader of the Socialist Party, told France-2 television.
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