In a televised address, Chirac said he would find new ways to serve his country after leaving office: "Serving France, and serving peace, is what I have committed my whole life to."
Most on the French right Chirac once dominated and in the party founded for his re-election in 2002 have swung behind Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, leaving Chirac with no political base for another run in the April-May two-round presidential vote.
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