People line up, heads of state from many countries attend the funeral of former French President Jacques Chirac
(Baonghean) - About 30 foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, were present in the French capital Paris on September 30 to attend the funeral of former President Jacques Chirac, who passed away last week at the age of 86.
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| People lined up to bid farewell to the late French President. Photo: Yahoo |
Chirac was praised by many French people for asserting his country's role as a global player and for opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while accusations after he left office that he had misused public funds did little to damage his image.
Former President Chirac was accorded military honours at the Invalides Hotel in central Paris. After a period of mourning, his coffin was moved to the Saint Sulpice church, where heads of state and government, along with French officials, attended the solemn funeral. Afterwards, French President Emmanuel Macron will receive the leaders who came to pay their respects to the former President and invite them to lunch at the Élysée Palace.
The body of former French President Chirac was buried at Montparnasse cemetery in Paris, in the plot next to the resting place of his daughter Laurence, who died in 2016.
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| Mr. Chirac's body lies in state in Paris on September 29. Photo: Reuters |
Over the weekend, thousands of people lined up outside the Invalides hotel to pay their respects to Mr Chirac. His coffin was draped in the French flag and placed in front of a large portrait of a smiling Chirac. Parisian Remu Issons, who was among the crowd, said Chirac was “a man who had a different view of his own role, of the role of France in the international community, and who expressed it in different situations”.
A large crowd of French people also gathered at the city hall in Paris, where Mr. Chirac served as mayor for 18 years. Another citizen, Anne Firmin, looked up at the photos of Chirac taken at the height of his political power and said sadly: "My heart feels very heavy. For me, that was my entire youth."
