Editing Jacques Chirac (section)

=== Mayor of Paris: 1977–1995 ===
After his departure from the cabinet, Chirac wanted to gain the leadership of the political right, to gain the French presidency in the future. The RPR was conceived as an electoral machine against President Giscard d'Estaing. Paradoxically, Chirac benefited from Giscard's decision to create the office of [[mayor (France)|mayor]] in Paris, which had been in abeyance since the 1871 [[Paris Commune|Commune]], because the leaders of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] (1871–1940) feared that having municipal control of the capital would give the mayor too much power. In 1977, Chirac stood as a candidate against [[Michel d'Ornano]], a close friend of the president, and won. As mayor of Paris, Chirac's political influence grew. He held this post until 1995.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-12-15 |title=Profile: Jacques Chirac |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12666433 |access-date=2020-06-05 |archive-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723001059/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12666433 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chirac supporters point out that, as mayor, he provided programmes to help the elderly, people with disabilities, and single mothers, and introduced the street-cleaning [[Motocrotte]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/12/worlddispatch.jonhenley |title=Merde most foul |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=UK |date=12 April 2002 |access-date=29 July 2010 |first=Jon |last=Henley |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826021821/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/12/worlddispatch.jonhenley |archive-date=26 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> while providing incentives for businesses to stay in Paris. His opponents contend that he installed "[[Clientelism|clientelist]]" policies.