French President Jacques Chirac has announced his retirement from frontline politics today after a 45-year career that was strong on symbolic gestures but short on concrete reforms. His announcement was made during a televised address to the nation and marks mark the end of an era for France and clears the way for a new generation of younger politicians now vying for power.
Chirac, 74, has served as president since 1995 and leaves behind a difficult legacy for his successor, with the French economy underachieving most European peers, the state heavily indebted and social tensions simmering in deprived suburbs.
"The moment has come for me to serve you in a different way," he said. He told the nation he would continue to work "for the greatness of France".
"In a different way, but with the same enthusiasm, and the same passion to work for you, I will continue to take part in our shared struggles - my life struggle - for justice, for progress, for peace, for the greatness of France," he said.
His natural heir in the conservative camp, presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy, said today he hoped to receive Chirac's endorsement, but also delivered a stern rebuke to his one-time mentor by promising a new approach to politics.
"I will not prevaricate with the French, I will not lie to them, I will not betray them," he said in an interview published in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
"I want to be the candidate who says very clearly to the French what he will do if they give him their trust. That is my speciality. I am therefore different from Jacques Chirac."
Sarkozy is leading in the polls ahead of the April-May election, but he faces a tight race against his two main foes -- Socialist Segolene Royal and centrist Francois Bayrou.