Presidents of major nations are used to getting their own way. Jacques Chirac, President of France since 1995, is no exception. Before the presidency, he served as Mayor of Paris for 18 years and enjoyed two stints as Prime Minister, all the while deftly batting away accusations of corruption.

And so, as Chirac greeted the makers of a Hollywood film based on the bestselling book The Da Vinci Code, he surmised that it would be a simple matter to secure a leading part for his daughter’s best friend. Over coffee, he suggested that the director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer cast a well-known French actress as the cryptographer Sophie Neveu.

Unfortunately for Chirac, his request was snubbed and details of the meeting relayed to Newsweek. Howard called the meeting hilarious. French newspapers leapt on it as further evidence of Chirac’s alleged willingness to exert inappropriate influence to benefit family and friends; the headline of the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé reads: “Chirac, Veni, Vidi, Da Vinci.”

Meanwhile, the identity of the French actress touted by Chirac remains a mystery (Audrey Tautou had already beaten 30 other actresses to the part). It is rumoured to be 39-year-old Sophie Marceau, who is close to Claude, Chirac’s daughter and PR adviser.

Jacques René Chirac was born in Paris, on November 29, 1932, and is said to have been greatly influenced by his wartime childhood, during which his banker father remained as distant as his mother was adoring. The young cavalry officer married Bernadette Chodron de Courcel in 1956; the couple have two daughters, Claude and Laurence. The Chiracs also fostered a Vietnamese refugee for two years, after Chirac came across her crying at Orly airport.

Chirac founded the Rally for the Republic party (RPR) in 1976 but his political beliefs have been famously inconstant. He has, for example, been both a eurosceptic and a champion of the single currency. Édouard Balladur, who challenged Chirac for the presidency in 1995, joked: “Jacques is like le beaujolais. They send us a new one every year.” Chirac has been tainted by corruption accusations from his time as mayor. He dodged the dock by citing presidential immunity.

He won respect recently for his outspoken opposition to the Iraq War but was criticised for remaining silent during the Paris riots. Chirac, who was treated in hospital briefly for a mystery illness this year, has not ruled out standing for a third term in 2007.