The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by Jerome, although there are no indications as to the location of the photograph or the identity of the girl.
The divided back has been hand-stamped with the date 29th. November 1932.
A Non-Aggression Pact
So what else happened on Tuesday the 29th. November 1932?
Well, on that day the Soviet Union and France signed a non-aggression pact.
Gay Divorce
Also on that day, the Cole Porter musical 'Gay Divorce' made its Broadway debut at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in NYC.
Jacques Chirac
The 29th. November 1932 also marked the birth in Paris of Jacques Chirac, President of France.
(a) Chirac's Conviction for Corruption
Chirac has been named in several cases of alleged corruption that occurred during his term as mayor, some of which have led to felony convictions of some politicians and aides. However, a controversial judicial decision in 1999 granted Chirac immunity while he was president of France.
Chirac refused to testify on these matters, arguing that it would be incompatible with his presidential functions.
Investigations concerning the running of Paris's City Hall, the number of whose municipal employees increased by 25% from 1977 to 1995 (with 2,000 out of approximately 35,000 coming from the Corrèze region where Chirac had held his seat as deputy), as well as a lack of financial transparency and the communal debt, were thwarted by the legal impossibility of questioning him as president.
The conditions of the privatisation of the Parisian water system acquired very cheaply by the Compagnie Générale des Eaux and the Lyonnaise des Eaux, then directed by Jérôme Monod, a close friend of Chirac, were also criticised.
Furthermore, the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné revealed the astronomical "food expenses" paid by the Parisian municipality (€15 million a year according to the Canard). These expenses were managed by Roger Romani, who allegedly destroyed all archives of the period 1978–93 during night raids in 1999–2000.
Thousands of people were invited each year to receptions in the Paris City Hall, while many political, media and artistic personalities were hosted in private flats owned by the city.
Chirac's immunity from prosecution ended in May 2007, when he left office as president. In November 2007, a preliminary charge of misuse of public funds was filed against him. Chirac is said to be the first former French head of state to be formally placed under investigation for a crime.
On the 30th. October 2009, a judge ordered Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges, dating back to his time as mayor of Paris.
On the 7th. March 2011, Chirac went on trial on charges of diverting public funds, accused of giving fictional city jobs to twenty-eight activists from his political party while serving as the mayor of Paris (1977–95).
Along with Chirac, nine others stood trial in two separate cases, one dealing with fictional jobs for 21 people and the other with jobs for the remaining seven. The President of the Union for a Popular Movement, who later served as France's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alain Juppé, was sentenced to a 14-month suspended prison sentence for the same case in 2004.
On the 15th. December 2011, Chirac was found guilty and given a suspended sentence of two years. He was convicted of diverting public funds, abuse of trust and illegal conflict of interest. The suspended sentence took into account his age, health, and status as a former head of state. It meant that he did not have to go to prison. He did not attend his trial, since medical doctors deemed that neurological problems had damaged his memory. His defence team decided not to appeal.
(b) The Death of Jacques Chirac
Chirac died at his home in Paris on the 26th. September 2019, surrounded by his family. He was 86 years of age when he died.
A requiem mass was held at Saint-Sulpice on the 30th. September 2019, celebrated by Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris, and attended by representatives from about 175 countries, included 69 past and present heads of state, government and international organizations.
Notable names included Jean-Claude Juncker, Vladimir Putin, Tony Blair, and Bill Clinton.
The day was declared a national day of mourning in France, and a minute of silence was held nationwide at 15:00. Following the public ceremony, Chirac was buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery with only his closest family in attendance.
Andorra announced three days of national mourning, and Lebanon declared the day of the ex-president's funeral to be a national day of mourning.