Chirac endorses rival to succeed him as France's president

PARIS -- After holding out for months, President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday endorsed fellow conservative Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to succeed him, despite long and sharp personal and political differences between them.

Chirac also said Sarkozy would quit as interior minister Monday to devote himself fully to the close race in which he is narrowly the front-runner.

Chirac's declaration of support and Sarkozy's departure from government had long been expected. Even so, the president kept praise for his former protege and later rival to a terse, two-minute televised declaration that spoke more of reason than of warmth.

"With regard to my personal choices, things are simple," Chirac said. He cited Sarkozy's "qualities" without elaborating, adding: "Therefore, I naturally will give him my vote and my support."

Sarkozy, who has held a small lead in the polls for months, has made breaking with the Chirac era a theme of his presidential campaign.

He said he was "very touched" by Chirac's support. "It is important for me politically and also personally," the candidate said in a statement.

Leaving the Interior Ministry promises to deflate vociferous criticism from Sarkozy's competitors that he was unfairly using his powerful and high-profile government post to campaign.

Because the ministry organizes France's elections, critics also claimed a conflict of interest in Sarkozy's case and argued that he blurred the lines between his candidacy and his ministerial duties. Sarkozy faced accusations of using his powers to spy on the camp of Socialist rival Segolene Royal, which he denied.

But the ministry, which oversees the police and domestic intelligence agencies, also provided Sarkozy with an enviable platform to prove his effectiveness on issues central to his campaign, particularly immigration and security. His tough stance on those questions drew much criticism during his tenure, but boosted his support on the right.

In his declaration, Chirac hailed Sarkozy's "work, his commitment and his results" at the ministry.

Sarkozy has sought not to come across as the president's heir, to avoid being associated with Chirac's policy failures and often dismal approval ratings in his 12 years at the Elysee Palace.

But Chirac still carries weight and a refusal by him to endorse Sarkozy would have been a blow for his candidacy.

Sarkozy said Chirac's support was of "primary political significance" because he "knows better than anybody the demands of the job" as president.

France votes on April 22, with a runoff on May 6 between the top two vote-getters. Chirac, 74, only announced this month that he would not seek re-election.

Both men come from the same political party, the Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP. But they have had tense relations since Sarkozy infuriated Chirac by backing his rival, Edouard Balladur, in 1995 presidential elections that Chirac went on to win.

Years in the political wilderness followed for Sarkozy before Chirac brought him into the government in 2002.

They have disagreed over specific policies, too, including Sarkozy's calls for "positive discrimination" -- or French-style affirmative action -- to fight racial inequalities.

Chirac attacked that idea in a book, "My Combat For France," being published Friday.

"In our republic, no discrimination is tolerable, even when presented as 'positive,"' wrote Chirac, according to extracts of the book published Wednesday by the newspaper Le Monde.

Francois Baroin, currently minister for France's overseas territories, is tipped as a likely successor to Sarkozy at the Interior Ministry, but would only serve until the new president takes office in May.