French Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin, beaten in his bid for the presidency in a shock first round election which saw a far-right candidate reach the second round run-off, bade an emotional farewell to political life today.
After attending the final cabinet meeting before his Socialist government tenders its resignation on May 6th, Mr Jospin wrote to the leader of his regional council to confirm he was standing down as a councillor for the south-western town of Cintegabelle, a post he had held since 1988.
At the Cabinet meeting, Mr Jospin thanked his colleagues for "the work achieved over the past five years" and told them they "served our country well", Parliamentary Relations Minister Mr Jean-Jack Queyranne said after the meeting.
Mr Queyranne said the meeting was "charged with emotion" as Mr Jospin thanked the entire team "individually and collectively". Mr Jospin also thanked conservative President Jacques Chirac "for the courteous and simple manner in which he presided over the cabinet".
For his part, President Chirac, who faces far-right candidate Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen in the May 5th presidential election run-off, paid tribute to the cabinet for their role in making the five-year "cohabitation" work and said: "We have fulfilled the Republican duty the French people assigned to us," his spokeswoman Ms Catherine Colonna said.
Mr Jospin announced after Sunday's election defeat that he was standing down from political life immediately.
There is no traditional weekly Cabinet meeting next Wednesday because of the May 1st Labour Day public holiday.
Later in the day, Mr Pierre Izard, the Socialist chairman of the Haute Garonne regional council announced he had received Mr Jospin's letter "officially informing me of his decision to bring to an end his term as a councillor for Cintegabelle".
AFP
