France: French president Jacques Chirac (72) has been hospitalised for the first time in his 10-year presidency.
He was taken to Val-de-Grâce military hospital during the night from Friday to Saturday, after suffering a "minor vascular incident that led to a slight vision disorder", doctors said.
A three-sentence update from the hospital yesterday said Mr Chirac had spent a good night, that his general condition was satisfactory and that he would remain under observation for several days. Prime minister Dominique de Villepin earlier announced Mr Chirac would stay in hospital all week.
British cardiologist Piers Clifford said Mr Chirac probably suffered a transient ischemic attack, or "mini-stroke", in which a small blood clot "lodges in the retinal artery, causing restriction in the field of vision".
Brain scans will show whether Mr Chirac is suffering from arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which can lead to blood clots. Or Mr Chirac may have high blood pressure, which could have caused a burst blood vessel.
Several politicians complained about the 12-hour lapse between Mr Chirac's hospitalisation and the announcement. The Élysée said it wanted to have a better idea of the nature of the president's ailment before making an announcement.
"There needs to be greater transparency," Socialist Party leader François Hollande said. "The French deserve to know the truth. They have the right to know the nature of the illness of their head of state."
The French have little faith in medical bulletins about their presidents' health. Georges Pompidou died suddenly in office in 1974, after hiding his bone marrow cancer from the public. His successor, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, published health reports every six months. When François Mitterrand came to office in 1981, he promised total transparency about his health. But he was soon diagnosed with prostate cancer and issued fake medical reports for the following decade.
When Mr Chirac took power in 1995, he said he would not issue medical bulletins because his health was part of his private life. A cabinet minister was scolded in 2003 for revealing that the president has a hearing aid.
Mr de Villepin will chair Wednesday's cabinet meeting, only the third time in 31 years that the prime minister has stood in for the president. If Mr Chirac's illness continues, Mr de Villepin will take over his functions, as prescribed by the constitution. In the event of the president's death, the president of the Senate, Christian Poncelet (77), would become acting head of state.
Mr Chirac cancelled all his appointments this week, including an informal Franco-German summit near Berlin tomorrow.