World leaders mourn ex-french president

About 30 foreign leaders, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, today gathered in the French capital for the funeral of former president Jacques Chirac, who died last week.

Chirac was feted by many French people for asserting the country’s role as a global player and for opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Military honors will be paid to Chirac at the hotel Des Invalides in central Paris, where he has been lying in state, before his coffin is taken in a procession to the church of Saint Sulpice

Chirac is to be buried at the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris, in a plot next to his daughter Laurence, who died in 2016.

Over the weekend, thousands queued outside  hotel Des Invalides to pay tribute to Chirac.

His coffin was on display, draped in the French flag and in front of a large photograph of a smiling Chirac.

Crowds also gathered at Paris town hall, where Chirac served for 18 years as mayor.