In an attempt to dispel the intense secrecy surrounding the health of President Jacques Chirac, the French Government announced today that he was "very well" and would leave hospital by the end of the week.

With the President in hospital and his condition unclear, Paris has been awash with rumours and gossip since September 2, when M Chirac was rushed to hospital after suffering a "vascular accident". Some medical experts said he may have suffered a stroke.

Later, doctors said that M Chirac, 72, had suffered a cerebral haematoma, effectively a small amount of bleeding in his head, which had affected his vision and given him headaches but under France's strict laws of medical confidentiality, nothing more was disclosed.

In M Chirac's absence, the two politicians expected to fight the next presidential election, Dominic de Villepin, the French Prime Minister, and Nicholas Sarkozy, the Interior Minister, have spent days positioning themselves to succeed him.

"Both have pushed what amounts to manifestos for what they would do if they were president," said Charles Bremner, correspondent for The Times in Paris.

"M Sarkozy is promising to lead France to a new revolution, as Thatcher did for Britain and Reagan did for America, while M de Villepin, who M Chirac wants as a successor to succeed him, has talked about continuity and stability."

Jean-Francois Cope, a spokesman for the President, attempted to put an end to the rumours today, saying that M Chirac would be back in the presidential palace by the end of the week.

"The President is very well ... The French people will see him very shortly," said M Copel, although he refused to give any details of the President’s plans for travel or scheduled meetings. M Chirac is due to attend a UN summit in New York next week.

M Chirac's hospital stay has been interpreted as another blow after a damaging defeat when French voters rejected the EU constitution in a referendum in May and has been dogged by poor opinion polls ever since.

Many observers, remembering former President Francois Mitterand, who kept a battle with prostate cancer secret for more than ten years, have suggested that M Chirac will not be healthy enough to run in the next presidential election in 2007. M Chirac has so far remained silent on whether he will run for third term as president.

Times Recommends

• Peter Moore’s family say they can smile again
• Ambition always comes before a fall
• Putin: Russia needs more weapons to counter US