French President Jacques Chirac has been hospitalized for several days after sustaining a blood vessel problem in his eye, but is already eager to leave, the prime minister said.
Chirac, 72, was alert and consulting with advisers after being taken Friday evening to a Paris military hospital, but officials said he was canceling or delaying several appointments this week.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, after visiting Chirac for about an hour on Saturday at the walled Val-de-Grace hospital, said he had found the president in "good form."
"He can't wait to leave," Villepin said in a brief statement to reporters afterward, adding that doctors had urged Chirac to remain in hospital for several days. He declined to answer questions.
While supporters played down the severity of the situation, the surprise hospitalization was likely to trigger debate about future changes in the French political landscape that Chirac has dominated for a decade.
Doctors said such a problem could range from a ruptured blood vessel to a stroke, which is often connected to vision trouble. More than 80 percent of strokes are caused by blockage in an artery carrying blood to the brain.
Chirac's schedule for the week had included a summit tomorrow with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany and a lunch meeting on Friday with Prince Albert II of Monaco. Villepin will head a French Cabinet meeting on Wednesday in place of Chirac, the presidential Elysee Palace said.
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