Chirac as Blairs enemy
The week's news at a glance.
London
French President Jacques Chirac opposed the war in Iraq simply to undermine Prime Minister Tony Blair, a new book asserts. The book, Tony Blair, by Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens, cites confidential reports from British intelligence. The reports said Chirac felt that the charismatic Blair had “usurped his own position” as the dominant leader in Europe, and that Chirac hoped to use the debate over Iraq to isolate the British leader. “Blair came to believe it,” Stephens says in the book, “telling close aides that Chirac was ‘out to get him.’” French officials scoffed at the report, and the British prime minister’s office refused to comment.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
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.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff