Chirac ailing
The week's news at a glance.
Paris
President Jacques Chirac spent this week in a hospital, after suffering what his doctors called a “mini-stroke.” The doctors said the condition was not serious and that Chirac, 72, would fully recover. But politicians in Chirac’s own center-right party seem to be writing his epitaph already. Two of them are now campaigning openly to succeed him as president in 2007. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Chirac’s close aide, says he would offer “change in continuity,” while Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Chirac’s main rival within the party, is calling for “a rupture with the past.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and Clipse
Feature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Feature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
What the CIA just revealed about its Lee Harvey Oswald connection
The Explainer The agency has admitted a key fact about Oswald for the first time