Former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur Dies at 97

Édouard Balladur, the former French prime minister who turned from Jacques Chirac’s longtime ally into his rival, has died at 97.

Balladur served as François Mitterrand’s last prime minister from 1993 to 1995. His political legacy is closely tied to the break with Chirac, once described as his “friend of 30 years.”

Their alliance ended during the fierce 1995 presidential campaign. Balladur’s defeat by Chirac brought his presidential ambitions to an end and became the defining rupture of his political career.

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friend of 30 years

Balladur also held senior government responsibilities in earlier periods, including economic and financial duties in the Chirac government from 1986 to 1988. In his own writing, he described several moments in his career as difficult positions, including the political upheavals of 1968, responsibilities at the Élysée in 1973 and 1974, his economic role in the late 1980s, and his premiership during the 1993-1995 cohabitation.

The account described Balladur’s death as a major disappearance in French political life, while noting that his failed 1995 presidential bid was notably absent from his list of difficult career positions.

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Destiny, Balladur wrote, placed me four times in difficult positions.