Jacques Chirac, the former French president who was a colossal figure in the country's politics for three decades, died Thursday at the age of 86, his family told AFP. The centre-right Chirac, acknowledged even by foes as a supreme political fighter, rose to prominence as mayor of Paris before becoming prime minister and then serving as head of state from 1995 to 2007.
Former opponents and supporters paid tribute to a man with a genuine love for France, while world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed him as a great statesman. "President Jacques Chirac died this morning surrounded by his family, peacefully," his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told AFP.