@jcj:
All those articles used the same source, which turned out to be incorrect.
See here (from #219 for the next couple of pages):
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/4...-crash-11.html
The only AF 747 in the vicinity was vacating runway 26L and M. Chirac was categorically *not* on board. It makes for a juicy, emotive story though - which is probably why it was repeated so much without proper verification.
[EDIT : Friendly word of advice - it's not advisable to link to the David Icke forums if you want your point to be taken seriously. Unless of course you subscribe to the theory that most if not all world leaders are in fact shape-shifting lizard aliens intent on enslaving the planet! ]