PARIS (AP) — Bernadette Chirac, the steel-willed former first lady of France who spent 12 years at the Élysée Palace from 1995 to 2007 beside President Jacques Chirac — weathering his notorious infidelities with dry humor while building her own political power base in rural France — has died. She was 93.
President Emmanuel Macron confirmed her death Saturday, saying he and his wife Brigitte had learned with "great sadness" of the passing of a woman who marked French history, and changed the lives of millions through her charity work.
"A great lady of the heart has departed," Macron said.
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For more than half a century, Chirac was the fixed point in her late husband's restless climb — through Parliament, two terms as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and, in 1995, the presidency.
