Quote from wild:
no ...
you apparently mistake the socialist British government for the center-right French government.
http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=32640
regards
wild
People so got used to socialist Mitterand that they do not realize that Chirac must be different. However, to prove this point, I'd rather provide this link for the American audience, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/france.election/. The article is short, to the point and comes from the trusted source.