bild

Francois Mitterrand, 78 and dying, undimmed by scandals that clouded his 14-year reign, is leaving the Elysee Palace with all of the grandeur befitting France's last elected monarch. Mitterrand, seen in a November 1994 file photo, in a manner recalling Louis XIV's remark, ``After me, the flood,'' he has let it be known that he regards the candidates for his job as mere politicians. (KEYSTONE/AP/Laurent Rebours)