Bernadette Chirac, former French first lady and wife of Jacques Chirac, dies at 93

Bernadette Chirac died on June 5 at the age of 93. She served as first lady of France from 1995 to 2007 and spent 12 years at the Élysée Palace beside President Jacques Chirac. President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the death.

During her time as first lady, Bernadette Chirac built her own political power in rural Corrèze and turned a children’s hospital charity into a national institution. Paul Smith, head of modern languages and associate professor in French at the University of Nottingham, described her as a “discreet force” and the “rock” on which her husband’s political career was based.

In a 1979 Elle magazine interview, Bernadette Chirac criticized her husband’s adviser Marie-France Garaud, stating that her mistake was not being wary enough of her.

She later described that comment as vulgar in her 2001 memoir Conversation. In 1972, at the age of 40, she pursued an archaeology degree against her husband’s wishes. She addressed her husband using the formal “vous” form, and he used the same form with her.

A photo of Bernadette and then-prime minister Jacques Chirac in Japan was taken on August 2, 1976.