PARIS — Former French president Jacques Chirac died on Thursday at the age of 86 after a long battle with deteriorating health, prompting tributes from across the political spectrum for a charismatic statesman who famously said "non" to the 2003 Iraq war. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a day of national mourning for Monday, when a mass will take place at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris. And Blair hailed Chirac as "a towering figure in French and European politics over many decades." Hundreds flocked to the Elysee Palace on Thursday evening to pay tribute and write in a condolence book underneath a large picture of Chirac. Chirac's 12 years in the Elysee Palace made him France's second longest-serving postwar president, after his Socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand.

Source: Philippine Star September 26, 2019 23:33 UTC