Bernadette Chirac dies at the age of 93

Bernadette Chirac, widow of former President Jacques Chirac, has died at the age of 93. Her passing marks the end of an era, that of a woman who remained in the shadows of power for a long time before establishing herself as a fully-fledged political figure.

Much more than a First Lady

Born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel on May 18, 1933, in Paris, she married Jacques Chirac in 1956. Alongside him, she shared more than half a century of public life, from the Paris City Hall to the Élysée Palace, where she served as First Lady of France from 1995 to 2007. But Bernadette Chirac was never just "the wife of"Elected in Corrèze for more than thirty-five years, she had built her own political legitimacy, with a direct style, sometimes feared, always assumed.

An influential woman behind the scenes of power

Behind her strict and reserved image, Bernadette Chirac was for a long time a respected advisor, an attentive observer, and a discreet player in the heyday of Chirac's political movement. Her outspokenness, her way with words, and her natural authority ultimately made her a political figure in her own right.

The Yellow Coins, his most popular fight

His most significant commitment will undoubtedly remain the operation Yellow CoinsFrom 1994, she took the helm of the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France and became one of the most recognizable faces of the mobilization for hospitalized children.

A life marked by hardship

Behind the public persona, Bernadette Chirac also experienced personal tragedies, notably the illness and then the death of her daughter Laurence in 2016, before the passing of Jacques Chirac in 2019. In recent years, she lived withdrawn from public life.

The end of an era

With the death of Bernadette Chirac, a page of French political history has turned. First Lady, local elected official, influential woman and charitable figure, she leaves behind the image of a woman of character, deeply attached to Corrèze, to her family and to a certain idea of ​​public duty.