France's Chirac to give rare television interview

PARIS, June 25 (Reuters) President Jacques Chirac, under fire on several fronts, will give an unscheduled interview to French television tomorrow to outline his government's plans for the coming months, an aide said on Sunday.

It will be the first such interview in almost a year and comes at a time when the conservative government is besieged by scandals, internal strife and political controversy.

An official close to Chirac said he ''will define the projects that he intends to follow with the government'' in the run up to the 2007 presidential election.

He would also answer ''topical questions'', the official said, declining to be named.

Among the most pressing political problems are the fate of aerospace giant EADS, which has been hit by management woes at its flagship Airbus, and delayed plans to merge French utilities Gaz de France and Suez.

However, the official said calls for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to resign were not seen as a ''topical.'' Chirac was not due to face a television grilling until his annual interview broadcast on July 14, the anniversary of the 1789 French revolution.

However, news magazine Le Point reported earlier this month that the 73-year-old president was considering making an earlier appearance in a bid to seize the initiative and confound his critics who have accused him of political drift.

The live interview will be aired during France 2's 8 p m news bulletin.

Chirac and Villepin have had a wretched year and pressure has been building on the president to sack his prime minister in a last-gasp effort to restore some order to conservative ranks ahead of the 2007 election season.

France's poor suburbs were shaken by riots last autumn, the government was forced to abandon employment reform in the face of widespread street protests and both Villepin and Chirac have been accused of involvement in a dirty-tricks smear campaign.

With the political world in turmoil, economic problems have also started piling up at the government's door.

EADS, which is 15 percent owned by the French state, saw its share price tumble after Airbus announced delays to the delivery of its new superjumbo. The French finance minister has held weekend talks with shareholders to find a way out of the mess.

At the same time plans to merge Gaz de France and Suez, a pet Villepin project, had to be pushed back until at least the autumn because government supporters in parliament refused to sign up to the multi-billion dollar deal.

REUTERS SK BST0033