PARIS -- On May 13, Jacques Chirac will celebrate the 13th anniversary of his first election to the presidency of the French Republic. Will he run for office again in 2007?
By then he will be 75, an age that seems rather old for the job. But he only feels at ease when he's active. He constantly travels abroad meeting heads of state, and he still loves shaking hands with the average man in the street and greeting women and children with a kiss. It is difficult to imagine him happily retired.
Added to this is the fact that once his presidential tenure ends his loss of legal immunity will open the door to judicial inquiries into his use of taxpayer funds to finance his party.