Forever Jacques

What would the world be without Jacques, you may ask? We might never get to find out. While he will not live forever, he might continue on the political scene for many more years to come.

Some people might not find this a good thing, considering Jacques’s past, but Jacques’s buddies are looking for ways to prevent him spending time in The Big House: Immunity for Chirac could halt inquiries

A group of parliamentarians will introduce legislation giving presidents a form of immunity from legal proceedings by making them senators for life when their term of office ends.

The President’s supporters say that they are motivated by the need to offer France’s former heads of state a suitable stage on which to express their opinions. A consequence of their move would be to block a series of inquiries into political sleaze during M Chirac’s 18-year spell as Mayor of Paris.

He is at the centre of two investigations and may be questioned in three others, after being implicated in bribery scandals and misuse of taxpayers’ money.

I got the story from Manel at Hispalibertas, who comments,

A Pinochet-esque solution, so to speak. Berlusconian in spirit.

I would also add, considering how France offers shelter to former presidents-for-life, one completely in character.

Jacques, who is 72, has three more years to go until his current term as president runs out, but he will always be with us. Or so he hopes.