PARIS -- A French philosopher said Friday that President Fran?ois Mitterrand, suffering from prostate cancer, confided to him last month that doctors reckoned he had no more than six months to live.


Jean Guitton, 93, said Mitterrand, due to step down as president in May after 14 years in power, visited him at his Paris home on Nov. 17 to discuss the afterlife.


In an interview with RMC radio, Guitton quoted Mitterrand as telling him, "I have a fatal illness, and the doctors looking after me, in particular my main doctor, say that I cannot live more than six months."


Socialist Mitterrand, 78, has said he wants to serve out his term despite painful treatment for cancer, but he has not publicly disclosed when doctors fear he might die.


The Elys?e presidential palace had no comment on Guitton's remarks.


Guitton, a member of the French Academy, is a widely respected philosopher of fervent Roman Catholic faith.


He said he told Mitterrand there were two types of death -- of the soldier and of the general. Even in combat, the soldier dies with friends on all sides.


"The general is completely alone. You have the responsibility of the general, as you are at the head of France. You have given a marvelous example to all," he said


Asked by Mitterrand what was after the last rung, Guitton said he told him, "I do not know because it's called 'the beyond.'"