Ex-French President Chirac dies at 86

PARIS (AP) — Jacques Chirac, a two-term French president, died Thursday at 86. As mourners in Paris brought flowers to his Paris residence, world leaders were effusive in their praise for the man who led France for 12 years.

His death was announced to lawmakers sitting in France’s National Assembly and members held a minute of silence. In a rare homage, President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, planned a nationally televised speech Thursday evening in his honor. The Eiffel Tower in Paris will go dark on Thursday night to pay him tribute.

Chirac was long the standard-bearer of France’s conservative right, and mayor of Paris for nearly two decades. As president from 1995-2007, he was a consummate global diplomat but failed to reform the French economy or defuse tensions between police and minority youths that exploded into riots across France in 2005.

Chirac ultimately became one of the French’s favorite political figures, often praised for his down-to-earth human touch rather than his political achievements.

Condolences on Thursday poured in from French citizens, including political rivals, and international leaders.

Former Socialist French President Francois Hollande called Chirac a “humanist,” a “man of culture” who knew France to the core.

“The French, regardless of their convictions, are losing today a statesman, but also a friend,” he tweeted.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute to “a great statesman and European” while Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Chirac was a “formidable political leader who shaped the destiny of his nation.”

Chirac’s outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 rocked relations with France’s top ally and weakened the Atlantic alliance. Angry Americans poured Bordeaux wine into the gutter and restaurants renamed French fries “freedom fries” in retaliation.