French former first lady Danielle Mitterrand dies in Paris at age 87
Mitterrand died before dawn after being hospitalized at Georges Pompidou hospital in Paris in recent days for fatigue, her foundation France Libertes said.
Mitterrand turned the 14-year tenure of her husband, French President Francois Mitterrand, into her own bully pulpit - one that long outlasted him. He died of cancer shortly after leaving office in 1995. A determined activist, Mitterrand advocated many left-leaning causes, supporting Marxist rebels in El Salvador, ethnic minorities like Kurds and Tibetans, and vociferously opposing capitalist excess, Today's Zaman reports.
Mitterrand created several charities and criss-crossed the world in defense of human rights. She reportedly once kissed Cuba's Fidel Castro on the steps of the presidential Elysee Palace. Her foundation said Mitterrand found guidance in a phrase of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre: "It's not right to want to heal the suffering of people without committing to fight the very causes of this suffering." France Libertes, whose focus has been human rights and had recently made a top priority of getting drinking water to those without it around the world, said Mitterrand left behind "a message of hope."
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