Chirac announces will not seek re-election

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac announced on Sunday he would not seek a record third mandate.

Below are comments from politicians and analysts looking back at his achievements and legacy.

GORDON JOHNDROE, SPOKESMAN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL

SECURITY COUNCIL.

"President Bush wishes President Chirac all the best as he enters life after politics. The United States and France have been and will remain steadfast partners and allies."

IRISH PRIME MINISTER, BERTIE AHERN

"...On EU matters I have had no better friend than Jacques Chirac. Ireland owes him a lot. Irish farmers owe him a lot. He contributed to the survival of Irish agriculture .... At the WTO (World Trade Organization) he has also fought the same corner with us for support. He will be sadly missed."

JEAN-MARIE LE PEN, HEAD OF FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL FRONT PARTY

"I think that Jacques Chirac will go down as the worst president in the history of France."

"It's a great joy ... I am losing my worst enemy."

FRANCOIS BAYROU, CENTRIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

"I thought (his speech) was very good. I thought the way he expressed himself was both emotional and underlined basic values ... His speech outlined the main thread of what we need to do in France."

SIMONE VEIL, FEMINIST ICON, FORMER HEALTH MINISTER

"I think he is a person who is quite different from the one people see. He was always in the (conservative) RPR party ... but at heart he always wanted a left wing social policy.

"He has regrets, when he talks about his youth in the United States and elsewhere, I think he always wanted to pursue policies that he couldn't because of his political allegiance."

LAURENCE PARISOT, HEAD OF FRENCH EMPLOYERS' GROUP MEDEF

"Jacques Chirac has an exceptional sensitivity and understanding of diversity and that was very important for our country both domestically and internationally.

"It is because of this sensitivity and understanding that on the international front he understood better than any other world head of state what the stakes were in Iraq. This sensitivity makes him a man of exceptional dimensions."

PIERRE PEAN, AUTHOR OF BOOK 'THE STRANGER AT THE ELYSEE'

"I think that what Chirac will be remembered for is his refusal to go into Iraq ... Also his tireless defense of the values of the Republic, whether recognizing the crimes of Vichy, secularism...his visceral rejection of anti-Semitism and of the far right.

"Mitterrand and Chirac are the last dinosaurs compared with the politicians today who are all about communication and seizing public opinion. We are at the end of an era."

DANIELA SCHWARZER, EXPERT ON FRANCE AT THE GERMAN INSTITUTE

FOR INTERNATIONAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS

"Overall...it's seen as a very weak presidency, especially in the second term. He had this big parliamentary majority, and a prime minister who was really completely dependent on him, but he still didn't really change anything."

RICHARD WHITMAN, SENIOR FELLOW, EUROPE, AT CHATHAM HOUSE

THINK-TANK IN LONDON

"In general, Chirac's European policy has been a disaster and unfortunately it was in a period when leadership was really needed. It's a story of a great missed opportunity in playing a leading role in Europe.

ABDELHAMID AMINE, HEAD OF HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP AMDH IN MOROCCO

"During Chirac's presidency France regressed in terms of defending human rights, particularly in African countries. The fight against terrorism and illegal immigration took precedence over the protection and promotion of human rights."

LAURENT JOFFRIN, EDITOR, LIBERATION (LEFT WING DAILY)

"In foreign policy, he was alright on some things, Iraq for instance, and he had a reasonably well balanced policy in the Middle East. He also played it fairly well in Europe -- apart from the referendum.

"But in domestic affairs, he was a complete disaster."

(With reporting by James Mackenzie, Anna Willard, Darren Ennis, David Clarke, Paul Carrel, Tom Pfeiffer, Laure Bretton and Swaha Pattanaik and Crispian Balmer)