At the end of 12 roller-coaster years as president, the 74-year-old Jacques Chirac offered a warm and vibrant farewell to the nation in his final televised national address this evening. France's grandfatherly president was visibly touched as he spoke the words: "I want to tell you about the strength of the link that, at the bottom of my heart, unites me with each and every one of you. This link is one of respect . . . of admiration. It is one of affection for you, for the people of France. And I want to tell you to what extent I have confidence in you."

It was vintage late-era Chirac. And in a country whose leadership has been cold and distant, it marked a strikingly human contrast to other presidential departures, which have often been tinged with tragedy. President Georges Pompidou, who suffered from a mysterious "flu," suddenly died in office in 1974 from what turned out to be a rare cancer. The ailing François Mitterrand--who also suffered from cancer and who died within a year of departing the Élysée Palace in 1995--gave no farewell speech at all, simply issuing a farewell declaration. And then there was the icy departure of the youngest and most physically active president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1981. In a televised appearance that satirists continue to mock with striking regularity a quarter of a century later, d'Estaing ended a monotone televised adieu to the nation with an awkward pause and then the word, "Goodbye," before standing up and quietly leaving the room as the camera continued to film his empty chair.