French President Jacques Chirac (C) turns to look at his wife Bernadette (R) as his...

French President Jacques Chirac (C) turns to look at his wife Bernadette (R) as his sits next to Claude Pompidou (L) at a gala fundraising cinema preview for the Claude Pompidou Foundation in Paris, September 4, 2001. Last month Claude Pompidou, widow of [French president George Pompidou], rebuffed charges that the charity she heads had been used as a cover by French President Chirac to prevent the development of land next to his chateau. A French newspaper in August had alledged that Chirac, while former mayor of Paris, had used public money to block the building of a hydro-electric generator on the plot of land next to his chateau.