Bernadette Chirac, widow of former president Jacques Chirac, dies at 93

Born into a family of diplomats in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, Bernadette Chodron de Courcel met Jacques Chirac in 1951 at Sciences Po. The two became engaged in October 1953 and married on March 16, 1956, in Paris. Their union produced two daughters, Laurence in 1958, and Claude in 1962. The couple remained married for sixty years, until Jacques Chirac's death in 2019.

Corrèze Roots and Political Career

From 1966, Bernadette Chirac became fully involved in establishing her husband's local roots as he entered politics. She confided in Le Nouvel Observateur in 2003: "From 1966, I went to great lengths to help him establish himself in his constituency." She added, referring to the tenacity required at the time: "I felt obliged to cling on like a mussel to its rock." This role as a campaigning wife did not prevent her from pursuing her own archaeology studies, against the advice of her husband, who was then Prime Minister.

In 1977, when Jacques Chirac became mayor of Paris, the couple moved into an official apartment of approximately 1,000 square meters at City Hall. Bernadette Chirac then began to build her own local political career. She was first a municipal councilor in the village of Sarran, before being elected a departmental councilor of Corrèze in 1979. She was re-elected five consecutive times to this departmental position, which she held until 2015.

A long-standing figure in Corrèze, Bernadette Chirac left her mark on this rural department where Jacques Chirac's ancestors originated: her two maternal grandfathers worked there as teachers, one also being a Freemason. Hillary Clinton herself visited Tulle and Chaumeil in May 1998 to observe local democracy, and the Tour de France passed through Corrèze twice during her terms.

A First Lady Involved in Hospitals

Jacques Chirac, who served as Secretary of State for Economy and Finance, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, and then Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing between 1974 and 1976, before being elected deputy for Ussel in 1967, became President of the Republic in 1995. He remained so until 2007. Georges Pompidou, whose cabinet he was part of in 1962, had nicknamed him "the bulldozer."

At the Élysée Palace, Bernadette Chirac distinguished herself from previous First Ladies by being the only one to hold elected office. She also chaired the Foundation of Paris Hospitals – Hospitals of France and launched the charitable operation "Pièces Jaunes" (Yellow Coins) in 1994, aimed at funding projects for sick children. She was also the patron of Maison de Solenn, a facility dedicated to adolescents in difficulty.

In 2002, she was one of the few to anticipate Jean-Marie Le Pen's presence in the second round of the presidential election, which led to heated exchanges within the majority. The "food expenses" affair at Paris City Hall, concerning some 2.13 million euros in catering and reception expenses between 1987 and 1995 according to the Paris General Inspectorate, resulted in a dismissal of charges in 2005.

Tributes and Memories

A biography titled "Bernadette Chirac, the secrets of a conquest," written by journalist Erwan L'Eléouet, was published in February 2019. She had celebrated her 93rd birthday on May 18th. According to the family statement, Bernadette Chirac "friedlich im Kreise ihrer Angehörigen gestorben."

The Head of State paid tribute to a woman who "changed so many lives with modesty and perseverance," recalling the discreet but decisive role she played for decades in French political life and in the associative landscape, particularly in hospitals. Her passing comes seven years after that of her husband, Jacques Chirac, who died in 2019 at the age of 86.