Haven't you heard? Chirac is a moderate right-winger, just like John McCain. He is very spiritual, but doesn't think his religious views should carry over into his politics. At least, this is what the MSM thinks.
NPR is all upset about this EU vote.
(steely)
It's not as strange as you make it seem: Chirac is a *french* right-winger. That means that he will pursue French interests, not US ones. I.e. - he had/has lots of sweet deals going with various Arab governments, and doesn't want to spoil that, as that would diminish the power of France - hence his opposition to Bush.
Contrary to popular US belief, the French can be rather... erm, non-subtle. Never heard of US commandos blowing up Greenpeace ships, for one... Also, the French nuclear testing under Chirac back in the nineties drove the leftoids absolutely nuts.