Gov. Gen. Julie Payette and former prime minister Jean Chretien joined a long list of foreign leaders past and present in Paris on Monday at a funeral service for Jacques Chirac, the French leader remembered at home for his folksy charisma and abroad for opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Chirac, who served as president of France between 1995 and 2007, died last Thursday at 86.
“Former President Jacques Chirac was a great statesman who served the people of France with distinction over the course of his extensive political career,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to the French people.”
The leaders of the G7 countries huddle prior to a photo opportunity 16 June near Halifax harbour to discuss recent events in Bosnia. The leaders are (left to right) : Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (3rd L), Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Great Britian Prime Minister John Major, European Community President Jacques Santer, French President Jacques Chirac(C), U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/GettyImages)
France’s Emmanuel Macron, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and former U.S. president Bill Clinton were among the mourners in the aisles of the Saint-Sulpice church for the mass in memory of Chirac.
Chirac’s coffin, draped in the French flag, rested at the front of the church after having been driven in a procession escorted by police motorcyclists along streets lined by thousands of Parisians.
People react as they mourn during the funeral for late French President Jacques Chirac at the Saint-Sulpice church during a national day of mourning in Paris, France, Sept. 30, 2019. (Charles Platiau/REUTERS)
The Canadian delegation at the state funeral, which had to be moved to Saint-Sulpice because of the fire that ravaged the Notre-Dame cathedral in April, also included Canada’s ambassador in France Isabelle Hudon, as well as former Quebec premiers Jean Charest and Lucien Bouchard.
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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