French PM says Chirac's health 'very good'

President Jacques Chirac is eager to leave the military hospital where he has been confined since last week, and news about his health is “very good,” the French prime minister said today.

“I spoke with him on the phone. The news is very good. He can’t wait to leave, to say the least,” Dominique de Villepin said after visiting a technical school in Beauvais, north of Paris.

Chirac was admitted to hospital last Friday evening suffering from a “small vascular accident” that impaired vision in one eye, the Val de Grace military hospital has said.

Officials have minimised the president’s condition, but no one has provided details, leading to a range of speculation and pressure to keep the public better informed about the head of state.

Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope today said the French would see Chirac “very quickly”.

“I confirm he recovered quickly, he is doing fine and that in any case he will leave (the hospital) by the end of the week,” Cope said on Europe-1 radio.

Officials have already said Chirac would be out by the weekend, but have not specified an exact day.