Paris - It is too soon to tell whether President Jacques Chirac's feisty television performance on Bastille Day marked the end of his career, writes Lara Marlowe. But one thing is certain: it ended the illusion of a peaceful cohabitation between the Gaullist President and his Socialist Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin. "Their confrontation ceases to be masked by politeness," Le Monde said.
The Socialists are furious that Mr Chirac not only evaded questions about why he paid millions of francs in cash for airline tickets but also tried to divert attention from the scandal by attacking the Jospin government. High crime and unemployment rates, the national debt and an inefficient pension system were a few of the problems he blamed on Mr Jospin.
The Prime Minister immediately sent his finance, employment, interior and justice ministers into the battle, asking them to correct dubious data cited by Mr Chirac.
The most forceful condemnation was made by the Socialist Party secretary, Mr Francois Hollande, who said the president had shown his "outdated, personal concept of the state" with which he confused his own protection.