Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the former President and Prime Minister of France "resembled us and brought us together".
ADVERTISEMENTPoliticians and world leaders have taken to social media to pay tribute to the former French president Jacques Chirac, who passed away at the age of 86.
In a speech from the Elysée, president Emmanuel Macron said Chirac was “a familiar face, whether we shared his ideas or not”, who had brought the country together.
A number of former world leaders, including Jean-Claude Juncker, Guy Verhofstadt and Anders Fogh Rasmussen also took to Twitter to express their sentiments, with European Commission President Juncker saying he has lost “a loyal friend”.
In a statement on Twitter, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had clashed with Jacques Chirac over the Iraq War in 2003, described the Chirac as “unfailingly kind, generous and supportive”.
Although some commentators have remembered Jacques Chirac for his divisive career dating back to 1974 and his conviction for embezzlement, tributes were paid from across France’s political spectrum, including from his opponent and successor as President, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The lights at the Eiffel Tower were extinguished on Thursday in remembrance, and a day of national mourning will be held on 30th September.