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French Queue to Remember Chirac Ahead of National Mourning

Agence France-Presse

   PARIS - Mourners gathered at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday to
   pay their respects to former President Jacques Chirac, whose death
   unleashed a flood of tributes to a charismatic but complex giant of
   French politics.
   Chirac, president from 1995 to 2007, died Thursday at age 86 after
   years of deteriorating health since suffering a stroke in 2005.
   Ahead of a national day of mourning announced for Monday, the French
   presidency threw open the doors of the Elysee Palace for people wanting
   to sign a book of condolences.
   "I express my admiration and tenderness for the last of the great
   presidents," read one tribute. "Thank you for fighting, thank you for
   this freedom and good spirits."
   In a televised address Thursday night, President Emmanuel Macron
   praised "a man whom we loved as much as he loved us."
   Chirac is also to be given the honor of a public memorial ceremony on
   Sunday as well as a mass on Monday, which will be attended by Macron
   and foreign dignitaries including German President Frank-Walter
   Steinmeier and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
   A minute of silence will also be observed Monday at public
   institutions, schools and football matches.
   Schools have also been urged to dedicate class time on Monday "to evoke
   the former head of state's memory," with the education ministry saying
   it will propose potential discussion themes for teachers.
   And the QuaiBranlymuseum of indigenous art founded by Chirac, who had a
   deep appreciation of Asian cultures, said it would offer free admission
   until Oct. 11.
   French newspapers splashed his portrait across their front pages and
   dedicated most of their editions to the former president's life -- Le
   Parisien had an exhaustive 35 pages plus a 12-page special insert.

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