Chirac hospitalized with blood vessel problem

? French President Jacques Chirac has been hospitalized after suffering a blood vessel problem in his eye, the prime minister said Saturday.

Officials said he was canceling several appointments this week, and while supporters played down the severity of the situation, the surprise hospitalization was likely to trigger questions about future changes in the French political landscape that Chirac has dominated for a decade.

Chirac, 72, was alert and consulting with advisers after being taken Friday evening to a Paris military hospital, said Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin after visiting the president for about an hour Saturday.

He said he had found the president in “good form.”

“He can’t wait to leave,” Villepin said, declining to answer questions.