Former French President Jacques Chirac has died at the age of 86.
Chirac, who had suffered a series of health problems in recent years, died this morning ‘surrounded by his family’, his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux said today.
In Paris a minute’s silence was held in the National Assembly when the former President’s death was announced this morning while mourners have brought flowers to his home in the capital.
In a long career which began under Charles de Gaulle, Chirac was twice Prime Minister of France before serving as head of state from 1995 to 2007.
Chirac’s opposition to the Iraq War put him at loggerheads with George W. Bush and Tony Blair. As President he made a historic apology for France’s role in the Holocaust but his term was also marked by riots and a stinging defeat over EU integration.
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