Chirac Stands Trial on Louis XIV Attitudes of Leaders
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Jacques Chirac will be the first former French leader since World War II to stand trial when hearings begin today on charges he abused his role as mayor of Paris to reward party loyalists.
The heart of the claims against Chirac, 78, lies in a sense of political entitlement many French leaders have felt since long before mobs lopped off the heads of the elite, said anti-corruption activist Daniel Lebegue.