Aides to the president said he would answer the allegations in a televised interview on Saturday - France's annual Bastille Day.

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Questions may equally be asked of France's trio of star television anchors, who - just hours after the shooting - interviewed President Chirac, as tradition dictates on Bastille Day.

BBC: French President Jacques Chirac

However, better late than never and in a very public show of deficit determination the President has taken the almost unthinkable step of canceling the garden party on Bastille Day, July 14th.

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Mr Brunerie had been committed to a secure psychiatric ward where he had been under observation in Paris after trying to shoot at Mr Chirac at the annual Bastille Day parade on 14 July.

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In inviting Syria, and then giving Mr Assad a front-row seat on Bastille Day, Mr Sarkozy was gambling that bringing him out of international isolation might yield some return over Lebanon, Israel or even Iran.

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One unnamed Chirac advisor is quoted in today's Le Parisien newspaper as wondering whether - in future - it might be an idea for the president to carry out his Bastille Day troop inspection in a type of Pope-mobile, or protected car.

BBC: French President Jacques Chirac

Even governments are recognizing his importance in July 14, Bastille Day, Arnault was named Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor of France, while in Washington, back in April, he received the Corporate Citizenship award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

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