Bernadette Chirac certainly made an impression during her stay at the Élysée, alongside her husband, President Jacques Chirac. The French were thus able to observe the couple during their official outings, and Bernadette Chirac’s numerous reminders to her husband, known to be rather dissipated. Since the death of the former President in 2019, she has been extremely discreet. What happens to the former First Lady, aged 91?
Bernadette Chirac came close to death in 2021
Bernadette Chirac, born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, is one of the only First Ladies to have served an elective mandate, by being general councilor of Corrèze. Until 2019, the year of her husband’s death, she was also president of the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France, and organized each year the collection of donations for Operation Yellow Pieces. The torch has also been taken up by the current First Lady, Brigitte Macron, who directs the operation alongside the coach of the France team, Didier Deschamps.
Since 2019, the former president of the Yellow Pieces has been forced to use a wheelchair, and seems “emaciated and disabled” according to a close relative of the family who confided in Figaro. Still according to this Source, Bernadette Chirac no longer receives many visits from her former friends and seems rather isolated: “Her daughter does not want us to see her diminished, diminished“. As former First Lady and General Councilor of Corrèze, she receives a comfortable pension of 2,600 euros per monthnot to mention her husband’s retirement pension, which notably allows her to be accompanied by competent caregivers.
In 2021, Bernadette Chirac came close to death. In his private mansion, rue de Tournon, a tragedy almost cost him his life. On the night of July 1 to July 2, 2021, the former First Lady’s concierge detected a gas leak in the building. She quickly alerted the emergency services, and all the residents, including Bernadette Chirac, were fortunately able to be evacuated.
She still lives at home
Since the death of Jacques Chirac in 2019, Bernadette Chirac has lived retired in their family home in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, far from the public life she led for many years. It was therefore at her home that she blew out her 91 candles on May 18, 2024. Their daughter, Claude Chirac, gave news of her mother in 2022 to the magazine The mountainin which she described her daily life: “My family destiny meant that, a few years ago, I made the choice to support my parents in a more fragile moment of life. It’s a choice that thousands of families make. Others choose to place their parents in institutions. There is no right or wrong choice. I did that of being a helper“. Bernadette Chirac therefore lives alongside her daughter, Claude, and she is surrounded by nursing staff on a daily basis.
Claude Chirac also wished to pay tribute to the unfailing support of her husband, Frédéric Salat-Baroux, former secretary general of Jacques Chirac: “He supported me emotionally and materially, which is very important. Without his support, this would have been impossible. Because there are many families who do not have this material possibility. This is why nothing is black or white, everyone does what they can. The important thing is to do things with heart and with respect“. Bernadette Chirac’s last official public appearance dates from the funeral of Simone Veil, which took place in 2017.
Sources used:
Full Life / The Dispatch / The mountain / Le Figaro
