Former French President Jacques Chirac Dies Aged 86
Former President of France, Jacques Chirac, has died at the age of 86, AFP reports quoting his son-in-law.
France’s National Assembly stood for a minute of silence after learning of the news, with one deputy gasping loudly when it was announced by assembly president Richard Ferrand.
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The conservative Chirac was best known abroad for his staunch opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
At home, perhaps his greatest legacy was his acknowledgement, for the first time, of the French state’s role in the wartime round-up and arrest of Jewish people to Nazi death camps.
Chirac was president of France from 1995-2007.
Under his presidency, France entered into the single European currency and abolished compulsory military service.
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Chirac also cut the presidential term of office from seven to five years.
He disappeared from public life in recent years. He reportedly suffered from severe ill health.
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