Adieu, Jacques Chirac!

The first round of France's presidential elections, which takes place today, marks the end of the long and controversial political career of one of Europe's most distinguished public figures. President Jacques Chirac will not be running for a third term as president, but he will certainly leave his mark on his country and Europe in general for a long time to come.

The Arabs will miss a friend who has stood by them for many years. The Palestinians, in particular, will remember Chirac as a man who sympathised with and supported their historic struggle to rid themselves of Israeli occupation.

The departure of Chirac brings to closure the era of France's post war grand politicians and nation builders, starting with General Charles De Gaulle through presidents Georges Pompidou, Valery d'Estaing and Francois Mitterrand. Chirac was the living link with such a rich legacy of political history. The stage is now ready for second generation leaders, be it the right-of-centre UMP, Chirac's Gaullist party candidate Nicholas Sarkozy or the Socialist contender Segolene Royal, who if elected will become the country's first woman president.

Casting his shadow

With polls favouring the former interior minister, Sarkozy, Chirac will probably continue to cast his shadow over French politics for some time to come. Sarkozy, the son of Hungarian immigrants, was first discovered by Chirac many years ago, but the perceived paternal relationship fell through later on. Sarkozy's own position on immigration, especially in the aftermath of the Paris suburb riots, has not endeared him to the country's second generation North Africans and the less fortunate. Chirac distanced himself from the fiery Sarkozy, but had to bow down to the party's choice.

If elected Sarkozy is most likely to move away from some of Chirac's contentious positions in relation to the US, Europe and even the Middle East. Considered to be a brilliant politician, Sarkozy is a new-generation European politician, unlike Chirac whose EU agenda, along with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, distanced him from the US and Britain.

Chirac was a believer in France's central role in the new and expanding Europe. He vacillated on some issues but stood firm on others. One such issue was the Middle East. Chirac will be remembered as a supporter of Arab causes, but also as a man who stood against America's expansion in that strategically important region. Until the last few weeks before the invasion, Chirac maintained contacts with the isolated regime of Iraq's Saddam Hussain, working to prevent war. He never condoned the Anglo-American invasion of that country and suggested that such intervention will create instability in the region.

Chirac was a cultured man, modest in his own way, but arrogant as well. Palestinians will remember his highly publicised visit in 1996 to the Occupied Territories, and occupied Jerusalem, where he altercated with Israeli security guards. Until his forced incarceration and eventual death, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was a frequent, and welcome, visitor to the Elysée. A few days before the elections Chirac received Jordan's King Abdullah and few days later Palestinian national Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. His commitment to helping the Arabs secure a just settlement to their conflict with Israel remained solid and sincere.

The biggest upset in US-French relationship occurred over the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Under Chirac France's position was clearly against military action. Overnight Chirac became the subject of US diatribe, but he stood firm and while the French were unable to influence the outcome of the war, they were vindicated by its catastrophic outcome.

Chirac was a close friend of Lebanon's Rafik Hariri, whose assassination in 2005 made Elysée one of Damascus's fervent critics and supporter of the international tribunal. But as much as he denounced the Syrian regime, the French president remained flexible on Iran and its contentious nuclear programme as are Britain and other EU members.

Chirac has miscalculated a number of times and lost. Two blunders that stand out are his hasty call for elections in 1997 when the Left won and he had to sit on his hands. The other the bid to get a referendum on a European constitution which was rejected by voters across the continent. Still Chirac was able to survive as the sanguine leader he always portrayed himself to be. Today he faces corruption charges, but somehow the grand old man of France has the influence to make it through.

Chirac is the last of a breed of politicians who defined France and its role in the world and he will be missed, if not by his countrymen, then by the Arabs who cherished his friendship and noble style of leadership. The future will be different with a new generation of leaders who are more likely to bow to American pressure and be inclined to tag along. Chirac stood for something that belonged to a world that is now waning and disappearing!

Osama Al Sharif is a Jordanian journalist based in Amman.