French president Chirac launches re-election bid

AVIGNON, France -- President Jacques Chirac officially launched his re-election bid for the French presidency Monday, opening his campaign with sharp criticism of the Socialist government for squandering economic growth.

Chirac, a conservative, had long held off making his candidacy official -- just like the man expected to be his chief rival, Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

"Yes, I am a candidate," Chirac, 69, said in a speech in Avignon in southern France. "I'm happy to have told you. I therefore commit myself before the French people."

In a televised interview later in the evening, Chirac stridently criticized the policies of Jospin's government -- touching on what is likely to be the tone of his campaign.

He accused the Socialist-led government of squandering "four years of exceptional growth" that, he said, caused France to slip behind other European countries.

"We have a very difficult economic situation ahead of us," Chirac said during the interview on TF1. "We didn't take advantage of our strong economic growth when we had it, and now we're going to pay for it."

His campaign themes, which were already announced by his party, include cracking down on rising crime and lowering taxes. Other key issues include relaxing a Jospin law mandating a 35-hour workweek.

It will be Chirac's fourth presidential campaign. He served as mayor of Paris and as prime minister, but failed on two tries for the top job until his election in 1995.

The first round of elections is April 21. The two top candidates then face each other in a second round on May 5. This time, the winner will serve five years instead of seven -- a change approved in a national referendum in 2000.

In a surprise, Chirac chose a visit to the town of Avignon to declare his candidacy in what was a symbolic show of force. The town went to Chirac's conservative Rally for the Republic party in last year's municipal elections -- a resounding defeat for then-Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou, a Socialist.

Jospin has yet to announce his candidacy but plans to announce later this month.