Chirac Backs His Premier Against Gaullist Sniping

Chirac telephoned Gaullist floor leader Michel Pericard to express his indignation at criticism of Juppe and asked him to tell RPR parliamentarians that any attack on the Prime Minister was an attack on himself.

He told me no one could claim to support him if they didn't support the government's policy, Pericard told an annual conference of Gaullist legislators in Le Havre.

Chirac's unusual decision to take to the battlefront to defend his premier was a measure both of the seriousness of sniping at Juppe within the centre-right coalition, and of the damage it is causing in public opinion.

An IPSOS opinion poll published Thursday showed Chirac's approval rating at a record low since his election. Just 36 per cent of voters said they supported the President's action, a fall of five points in a month. Juppe's approval rating was even lower.

 

Former premier Edouard Balladur hit out at two Juppe policy initiatives, voicing opposition to proposals for new anti-racism laws and changes in the electoral system.

Balladur's comments won applause and followed a blistering attack on the Prime Minister by back-bencher Etienne Garnier on Wednesday, disapproval by veteran Gaullist Pierre Mazeaud and criticism by former interior minister Charles Pasqua.

Juppe has called a parliamentary confidence vote next Wednesday in an effort to unite his fractious centre-right coalition but this has done nothing to stop the sniping.

Party officials said Garnier faced possible disciplinary action for calling Juppe an irreparable Prime Minister...whose dogmatism and clumsiness are leading the country towards insurmountable problems and unacceptable inequality.

Balladur, defeated for the presidency by Chirac last year, said in his speech: We will not respond to citizens' concerns by multiplying and refining our legal arsenal, nor by changing the election law at the risk of depriving the Fifth Republic of any stable majority.

Juppe split his coalition by proposing a dose of proportional representation in the parliamentary voting system and a new anti-racism law to make it easier to prosecute extreme-right anti-immigration crusader Jean-Marie Le Pen.