Since the announcement of the death of Bernadette Chirac, who died Friday June 5 at the age of 93, tributes have multiplied. A register of condolences was made available to the French at the Maison Élysée, located opposite the palace. Emmanuel Macron saluted a “great lady of heart” who “marked our history” and “changed so many lives with discretion and obstinacy”. The former first lady marked “the life of Corrèze where she was elected, the destiny of millions of anonymous patients too, thanks to her intimate and constant commitment”, notably at the head of the Fondation des Hôpitaux de Paris – Hôpitaux de France, added the president on the social network X.
In a message sent to Agence France-Presse, Brigitte Macron stressed that Bernadette Chirac had, from 2017, “helped, supported and enlightened her a lot”. “We have always remained in touch, until very recently,” said the woman who succeeded her in 2019 at the head of the Hospital Foundation.
A “courageous” and “independent” woman
Former presidents also paid tribute to President Chirac’s wife. Nicolas Sarkozy lost “a great friend”, “faithful, courageous, funny, uncompromising, affectionate”. “France loses a woman who always served it with passion and dignity,” he said.
François Hollande, who rubbed shoulders with her politically in Corrèze, praised an “obstinate, strong-willed lady, undoubtedly devoted, but above all independent”. She had succeeded “in imposing her personality, her ideas and her style in a world that was not hers,” he declared.
Several presidential candidates did not fail to pay tribute to him. This personality, “it was a character, a requirement, first of all with herself, a loyalty and solidity in the face of trials, a personality that the French respected and loved,” summarized Édouard Philippe. Bruno Retailleau praised “an exceptional woman” who “embodied, with rare dignity, the sense of duty, the love of France”.
“In her own way, she participated in the feminist fight”
“Bernadette Chirac was this woman of character, of rare strength, who became a familiar face and appreciated by all,” added Gabriel Attal. Jordan Bardella also hailed “the kingpin of Operation Yellow Pieces”. Dominique de Villepin, who had been criticized by Bernadette Chirac while he was secretary general of the Élysée, praised “the memory of a free, independent and deeply committed woman”.
The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, estimated that she had been able to “give herself a place in a century where women were still presented as the simple extension of their husbands. In her own way, she participated in the feminist fight.”
The socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, paid tribute to a “local elected official passionate about public life and the workings of French administration” who will have “mixed her destiny with that of France”. “Often caricatured, she will have especially marked people’s minds with her humanity,” he added.
