Christian Estrosi, during a ceremony attended by many elected officials and citizens, awarded the Honorary Citizen Medal of the City of Nice to Madame Bernadette Chirac, President of the Paris Hospitals/France Hospitals Foundation, President of the Claude Pompidou Foundation, General Councilor of Corrèze.
Madame Bernadette Chirac, née Chodron de Courcel, was born in Paris on May 18, 1933. On March 16, 1956, she married Mr. Jacques Chirac.
A graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies and holder of a Master’s in Archaeology, she entered politics in 1971 by becoming a Municipal Councilor of Sarran (Corrèze). Continually re-elected since then, she became the second deputy mayor in 1977.
On March 25, 1979, she was elected General Councilor of Corrèze, becoming the first woman to sit in this departmental assembly and re-elected continuously thereafter at every cantonal election.
In 1990, she founded the “Le Pont Neuf” Association aimed at fostering exchanges between young people from Eastern countries, Russia, and young French people. She remained President of the association until 2009.
In 1994, Madame Bernadette Chirac became President of the Paris Hospitals-France Hospitals Foundation. This Foundation is committed to providing well-being and comfort to the most vulnerable hospitalized individuals. For this purpose, it appeals to the generosity of the public twice a year, during the Yellow Coins operations in January and + de Vie in October. To date, more than 12,400 projects have been completed in France.
On September 3, 2007, she became the new President of the Claude Pompidou Foundation, which aims to assist people weakened by illness, disability, and old age.
On March 10, 2014, Madame Bernadette Chirac inaugurated the Claude Pompidou Institute in Nice, a center for reception, accommodation, care, teaching, and research on Alzheimer’s disease.
