Word: chirac
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...These former gaullists and their sympathizers dubbed the movement the Assembly for the Republic. At its head they proclaimed a new heir to what one commentator called the French "political strong-man tradition" of Napoleon and deGaulle: a smooth 44-year old operator and former Prime Minister named Jacques Chirac...
...French press called it a consecration. Critics on the French left compared the rally to pro-fascist, personality cult mass meetings. And there were resemblances. When Chirac rose to greet the throng, none of the other leaders of the old DRU party shared the podium with him. When the crowd broke in the afternoon to "elect" a chief for the new movement in voting booths thrown up around the fairground, the electors were presented with only three choices--"for" Chirac, "against" Chirac, or "abstain." One spectator, questioned by a New York Times reporter about the angry but obedient mood...
...supporters, grim at the outset but suddenly fired-up as they interrupted Chirac 96 times during his speech, by all accounts called to mind the Frenchmen who have found anti-reform, authoritarian appeals attractive in the past, particularly during the pre-World War II depression. France is again suffering a severe economic crisis; after a decade of industrial boom, the average Frenchman is faced with bewildering jumps in both inflation and unemployment. The "little guy" has become fed up, and Chirac is capitalizing on this despair...
...risks he takes, Chirac's operations are meticulously planned and executed. Before picking a new name for his party, he consulted marketing experts and conducted polls on key words. It was discovered that rassemblement was better received than mouvement. République and française (which was later dropped from the name because Chirac thought it suggested a challenge to the government) struck responsive chords, though democratic did not. Indeed, a computer analysis revealed that De Gaulle had used the word only nine times in all his public speeches...
...recent poll published by the newsmagazine Le Point revealed that voters find Chirac "stubborn, tough and pretentious." But a close friend cites another quality that may prove more meaningful for France: "Jacques, like a good combat leader, never retreats...