March 17, 2003	Monday	Muharram 13, 1424

PARIS, March 16: Only a year after opinion polls had him losing to his Socialist challenger Lionel Jospin, President Jacques Chirac has attained his highest popularity rating ever largely because of his refusal of a war with Iraq.

According to the poll, done by IFOP (Institut francais de l’opinion publique), Mr Chirac saw his popularity rating jump by 10 points, to 67 per cent, whereas only 27 per cent of the French said they were not satisfied with the French president.

Says Jean-Luc Parodi, a spokesman for IFOP, “this is the highest rating for any French president since George Pompidou, who reached 69 per cent during his five years in power (1969-1974), or for that matter General De Gaulle, who reached at one point 74 per cent during his first term in office (1958-1965).”

CNN: President Jacques Chirac is scheduled to address the American nation tonight during a special interview on CNN.

In the interview that was recorded in Paris last night, Mr Chirac is known to have reiterated his position that he prefers the peaceful disarmament of Iraq to war, but also said that he was ready to accelerate the inspection process.