Jacques Chirac puts off election decision to 2007

Paris, June 27 : French President Jacques Chirac today said he would announce in the first quarter of next year whether he wanted to stand in the 2007 presidential election.

Chirac, 73, won a second successive term as president in 2002, but his health has declined in recent months and he is widely expected to retire from politics when his mandate expires next May.

But asked in a television interview about his political future, Chirac said presidential candidates would only be decided on during the first three months of next year.

Reuters