France’s ex-president Chirac laid to rest

PARIS: France bid a final adieu to Jacques Chirac on Monday as the former French president received military honours on a national day of mourning that culminated with a memorial service attended by dozens of past and current world leaders.Cutting a solemn figure, France’s President Emmanuel Macron presided over the military ceremony on a mild, sunny morning near the site of Napoleon’s tomb in the courtyard of Les Invalides.A military band played the national anthem, La Marseillaise, before Macron inspected the troops. Chirac’s coffin, covered with a Tricolor flag, was then carried to the centre of the cobbled courtyard.Macron, who did not speak, later attended the final service at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in downtown Paris alongside family members, French politicians and foreign officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, former US president Bill Clinton, former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Jordan’s King Abdallah II..

from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2oFju2S