Jacques Chirac

Jacques René Chirac served as the 22nd President of France, governing for two full terms stretching from 1995 to 2007. Chirac's political career began in the 1960s, and he served as Prime Minister and Major of Paris before securing the presidency. During his long presidency, Chirac pursued a broad range of policies, including pushes for economic and labor reform and support for European integration. Issues of immigration and religious pluralism also became prominent during his presidency, particularly during the 2002 electoral contest in which he faced a right-wing challenger, Jean-Marie Le Pen. In 2003-4, Chirac supported a law banning the use of Muslim headscarves, along with Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses, in public schools, which he considered necessary in order to secure French secularism or laïcité.