France declares national day of mourning for Chirac on Monday

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday evening declared next Monday, Sept. 30, a national day of mourning for former President Jacques Chirac, who passed away Thursday morning at age 86.

Then French President Jacques Chirac gestures as he delivers a speech in Johannesburg, as leaders from around the world were gathering at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development for a three-day debate on the future of the planet on September 2, 2002. [File Photo: AFP/Patrick Kovarik]

In a nationally televised speech paying tribute to his predecessor, Macron lauded Chirac as a statesman who "incarnated a certain ideal of France" and "a great Frenchman loving our land, our history and our culture."

The national day of mourning will include a requiem mass at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris. Condolences may be offered at the Elysee Palace from Thursday evening until Sunday, the French presidency said.

Chirac had been active in French politics for over half a century. He was a two-term president (1995-2007), served twice as prime minister and for nearly two decades as mayor of Paris.

He was also well known overseas. In 2003, he defiantly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He stood for a "multipolar world" and called for closer ties with Asia and Africa.