French former president Jacques Chirac, French politician Simone Veil with her ceremonial sword and Gerard Larcher attend a ceremony as she is presented with the ceremonial sword as a new member of the French Academy at the French Senate in Paris, on March 16, 2010. Simone Veil will officially become a member of the French Academy (Academie Francaise) in a ceremony in Paris on March 18, 2010. Photo by Mathieu Griffoul/Witty Pictures/ABACAPRESS.COM