Crowds Give Chirac a Rousing Farewell

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians gave French President Jacques Chirac a rousing farewell as he wrapped up a state visit meant to help reconcile France and its former colony.

Local officials said at least 500,000 people lined the streets of Oran, Algeria’s second-largest city, where Chirac and his wife, Bernadette, walked for an hour under a shower of confetti as music blared from loudspeakers.

Chirac used his visit to try to heal wounds from Algeria’s eight-year war for independence, which ended in 1962.