PARIS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday "will address the French people" on national television, the presidential palace announced on Thursday.

    French media is expecting Chirac to clarify whether he will be among contestants for this year's presidential elections. Many people believe that the president will not seek a new mandate.

    Chirac, 74, has not yet indicated whether he is planning to be a candidate in the elections. His response to this question which has been put to him many times by journalists has always been that he will make his decision during the first quarter of 2007.

    Elected president in 1995, Chirac has been in the presidential palace for 12 years, five years of which he spent in cohabitation with former socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

    Chirac's activities on the diplomatic front, notably France saying "no" to the Iraqi war, his commitment to the environment protection and solidarity with countries from the South, has won him the respect and admiration from different corners of the world, according to observers.