Skip to main content
France

Chirac's wife hospitalised as ex-French leader remains ill

The family of Jacques Chirac said Wednesday his wife Bernadette had also been hospitalised "suffering" from exhaustion, and quashed rumours that the 83-year-old former French president had died.

Jacques Chirac with his wife, Bernadette Chirac on the eve of the second-round of France's 2002 presidential election on 5 May, 2002
Jacques Chirac with his wife, Bernadette Chirac on the eve of the second-round of France's 2002 presidential election on 5 May, 2002 Jack Guez/AFP
Advertising

"President Chirac is being treated for a lung infection and I want to pay homage to the exceptional quality of the medical teams," Chirac's son-in-law Frederick Salat-Baroux told French news agency AFP.

Salat-Baroux, husband of Chirac's daughter Claude, then later Wednesday announced that his mother-in-law Bernadette, also 83, had also been admitted to the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris.

"Bernadette Chirac, profoundly affected by the death of her eldest daughter Laurence (in April) and exhausted for several days following the lung infection of her husband, was hospitalised on Tuesday," he said.

After the public announcement, Salat-Baroux again appealed for "tranquillity" for the couple and "respect for their private life."

Chirac has been hospitalised since Sunday and rumours that he had died were sparked early on Wednesday when former housing minister Christine Boutin tweeted "Mort de #Chirac" (death of #Chirac).

She was widely criticised by the Chirac family and others for the false report.

She said in defending her tweet that she had "information that seemed to come from a reliable source".

Chirac, who led France from 1995 to 2007, had just returned from a visit to Morocco with his wife when he was admitted to hospital in Paris.

- with AFP

 

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.