Chirac and Sarkozy French President Jacques Chirac ends his final full day in office Tuesday with an evening farewell speech to the nation that he has led for 12 years. The debonair 74-year-old turns over power Wednesday to tough-talking fellow conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, who won election on pledges of a break with the past. Stepping down from the presidency, Chirac will be closing out some four decades in politics. Chirac founded the neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic party, today transformed into the Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP, that Sarkozy headed before being elected president on May 6. He still risks paying a price for his ambitious search for funds for his party. Without presidential immunity, Chirac could be subject to corruption investigations into alleged illegal party financing. Chirac said his goodbye to Europe on Sunday in Berlin, insisting on the need for a strong role for Europe in a "multipolar" world -- an issue that was a mainstay of foreign policy under Chirac but which so far remains unfulfilled. The concept of a "multipolar" world to counter the United States is dear to Chirac, and he made it come alive with the French-led opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Chirac has no intention of retiring to his rural Correze region in central France. He plans to create a foundation devoted to sustainable development and dialogue between cultures, to be launched this fall. The only other president to issue a televised farewell to the nation was Valery Giscard d'Estaing, on May 19, 1981, before turning over power to Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. With a much remembered final "au revoir," Giscard stood, made an exit and left an empty chair in the spotlight.  (AFP)

法國總統希拉克于本周二結束了自己最后一天的工作，并于當晚向自己領導了12年的國家發表了告別演說。 這位74歲、溫文爾雅的法國總統今天將向新當選的總統尼古拉斯·薩科奇正式移交政權，同為保守人士的薩科奇作風果敢，憑著與過去的法國決裂的諾言贏得了大選。 希拉克離任后將告別他四十多年的政治生涯，他所成立的共和黨“新戴高樂主義”同盟今日將為薩科奇在5月6日當選總統前所領導的“人民運動聯盟”取代。 此外，希拉克可能將要因大肆為所屬政黨集資而付出代價。失去了總統身份的保護，希拉克可能將受到黨內非法集資貪污案指控的調查。 希拉克于上周日在柏林向歐洲告別，并堅持歐洲應在多極世界中扮演重要角色。這個到目前為止尚未解決的問題是希拉克在任期間外交政策的主題。 希拉克十分重視能對美國起到牽制作用的“多極世界”的理念，由法國領導的反“伊戰”同盟便是它的一個重要體現。 希拉克并沒有打算退休后到家鄉--法國中部的Correze鄉村地區生活，他計劃于今年秋天成立一個致力于可持續發展和文化交流的基金會。 法國另一位在離任前向全國發表告別電視講話的總統是瓦勒里·季斯卡·德斯坦，他于1981年5月19日向社會黨的佛朗哥·密特朗總統移交政權之前發表了電視講話。當時，德斯坦說完那句令人難忘的“再見”之后，站起來、退下臺去，只留下一把空椅子在聚光燈下。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）