Lawyers Say Chirac Has Alzheimer’s, Cannot Face Corruption Trial

The former French president is being charged with using taxpayer money to fund his political campaigns in the early 1990s.

It’s either a very sad development or a very savvy ploy. A lengthy article in France’s Journal du Dimanche yesterday quoted friends and family of Jacques Chirac as saying that the legendary politician is in the grips of Alzheimer’s disease, but some say it was a well-orchestrated PR campaign to get Chirac off the hook on embezzlement charges. His lawyers are expected to ask Monday for a postponement of his corruption trial, which stems from allegations that while mayor of Paris he used taxpayer money to fund his political party. Rumours about Chirac’s health have been swirling since last January, when he was seen acting strangely at a Paris concert. Chirac was president from 1995 to 2007.