Editing Jacques Chirac (section)

=== Cabinet minister: 1971–1974 ===
After some months in the ministry for Relations with Parliament, Chirac's first high-level post came in 1972 when he became [[Minister of Agriculture (France)|Minister of Agriculture]] and Rural Development under Pompidou, who had been elected president in 1969, after de Gaulle retired. Chirac quickly earned a reputation as a champion of French farmers' interests, and first attracted international attention when he assailed U.S., [[West German]], and [[European Commission]] agricultural policies which conflicted with French interests.

On 27 February 1974, after the resignation of [[Raymond Marcellin]], Chirac was appointed [[Minister of the Interior (France)|Minister of the Interior]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Giscard appoints Chirac, Gaullist, France's Premier; Interior Minister, 41, Picked by President for Support During the Campaign Worked Under Giscard Largest in Assembly | work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/05/28/79332094.html?pageNumber=9 |access-date=2022-05-19 |language=en}}</ref> On 21 March 1974, he cancelled the [[SAFARI]] project due to privacy concerns after its existence was revealed by {{lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Manache |first=Jean-Marc |date=2010-12-23 |title=Safari et la (nouvelle) chasse aux Français |language=French |work=[[Le Monde]] |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/bugbrother/2010/12/23/safari-et-la-nouvelle-chasse-aux-francais/ |access-date=2022-05-19}}</ref> From March 1974, he was entrusted by President Pompidou with preparations for the presidential election then scheduled for 1976. These elections were moved forward because of Pompidou's sudden death on 2 April 1974.

Chirac vainly attempted to rally Gaullists behind Prime Minister [[Pierre Messmer]]. [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]] announced his candidacy in spite of the disapproval of the "Pompidolians". Chirac and others published the ''call of the 43'' in favour of Giscard d'Estaing, the leader of the non-Gaullist part of the parliamentary majority. Giscard d'Estaing was elected as Pompidou's successor after France's most competitive election campaign in years. In return, the new president chose Chirac to lead the cabinet.