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Jacques Chirac memoir admits admiration for old foe Margaret Thatcher

The former French president Jacques Chirac has expressed his grudging admiration for Margaret Thatcher despite their bitter clashes over Europe.

In his memoirs, to be published on Thursday, the 76-year-old Mr Chirac recounts what he decribes as his country’s “conflictual” relations with Britain.

While he is critical of Lady Thatcher, in particular over her handling of the 1981 hunger strike of IRA prisoners, he is clearly impressed by her statesmanship.

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)