MOSCOW/PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2019) The demise of former French President Jacques Chirac has triggered a huge reaction both in his homeland and abroad, with his contemporaries describing him as a "great statesman and European" and the last French leader who was genuinely close to the people and pursued the "Gaullist" course in foreign policy.
Chirac, who served as president of France from 1995 to 2007, died on Thursday morning at the age of 86, surrounded by his relatives.
France has declared September 30 a day of national morning.
President Emmanuel Macron posted on Twitter a photo of Chirac with a mourning ribbon, captioned: 1932-2019. The French leader is expected to deliver a special address to the nation later in the day.
'FRANCE'S SOUL,' THE LAST 'GAULLIST' PRESIDENT
France has indeed been rocked by the death of Chirac, a veteran of the French colonial war in Algeria who served in the government under President Charles de Gaulle and held various posts from municipal councilor and Paris mayor to prime minister and president of the republic.
Reflecting on the life of Chirac, French Senate President Gerard Larcher called him the "soul" of the nation.
"Over half of a century, Jacques Chirac embodied the soul of France in the country, around the world and through his values. He always refused to compromise with extremes and bravely accepted our country's past, both its dark and light sides," Larcher wrote on Twitter.
Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he felt devastated by his predecessor's death. He noted that it was under Chirac when he started his political career and decided, "following his example," to "serve France."
According to Sarkozy, Chirac never betrayed France's independence, with his opposition to the 2003 US-UK invasion of Iraq being the very telling example of his principled stance.
"He embodied France, true to its universal values and historical role; France, committed to multilateralism and building a more just and united world; France, true to its allies and partners, but rejecting any diktat as evidenced by his opposition to the Iraq war," Sarkozy said.
He added that the French should be grateful to Chirac for his service to the country, and memory about him would remain in the history of France and the people's hearts.
Ex-Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who also held ministerial posts under Chirac, took to Twitter to say: the "lion of French politics has gone. He sensually loved France and the French."
Former President Francois Hollande, in turn, described Chirac as a "fighter who managed to build a personal connection with the French."
An ex-French minister of state for transport, Thierry Mariani, similarly highlighted Chirac's utmost care about people.
"Chirac is the last president who was really popular," Mariani, a European Parliament member, told Sputnik.
According to the politician, Chirac was also the "last French president of the French Republic to pursue a truly Gaullist policy in international relations."
"He said 'no' to the Americans in response to their request to France to support that stupid war in Iraq. He was closely tied to Russia, like Gen. de Gaulle. He built a very balanced relationship with the United States and Russia," Mariani added.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing National Rally party, also highly assessed Chirac's diplomacy and his principled stance on the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"Despite all the differences that we might have with Jacques Chirac, he felt a great love for the overseas territories of France; he was a president who was able to resist the madness of the Iraq war, reviving the traditional position of balance and diplomacy of France," Le Pen tweeted.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing Unsubmissive France party, in turn, concluded: "The history of France turns a page. Let us indulge in sadness since there are reasons for that. He loved France more than others who came after him."
PARIS MOURNS: I KNOW HE WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT
Once news about the demise of Chirac came, the traffic and movement on Street Tournon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris were restricted.
The street was fenced off, with police officers deployed to the area. The officers check IDs of passers-by, with only residents of neighboring houses and journalists allowed to enter the territory, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
A neighbor of the late ex-president, Antoine, 14, told reporters that he was unaware of how Chirac had spent his last days.
"The last time I saw him in our patio was a couple of years ago. I have come across his daughter Claude, who was walking her dog, and we greeted each other. But I never saw his wife Bernadette," the boy said.
He added that "inside the house, it feels like something has happened."
"The shutters are closed, the atmosphere is oppressive ... But other than that, nothing special," Antoine said.
According to Antoine, he is shocked by the news of Chirac's death: "I am 14 years old, I do not know particularly the details of his program and policies, but I know that he was a great president."
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, meanwhile, announced that all municipal buildings would fly flags at half mast and open books of condolences in connection with the demise of Chirac, who also served as city mayor from 1977-1995.
"For us Parisians, he will always be our mayor who passionately loved his city and its residents. I express my sincere condolences to his wife Bernadette, his daughter Claude, his grandson Martin, his family and his loved ones," Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.
Later, the Eiffel Tower maintenance company said that the famous landmark would turn off lights on Thursday evening in tribute to late ex-president Chirac.
WORLD LEADERS: HIS LOSS WILL BE 'FELT ACROSS THE GENERATIONS'
World leaders, first of all those in Europe, also expressed their grief over the death of Chirac.
"He was an outstanding partner and friend for us, Germans, and me personally. I grieve with his family and the French people about a great statesman and European," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, as quoted in a statement, published in French.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in turn, tweeted: "We are losing a great statesman and European. His 'no' to the Iraq war and his consistent work on Nazi crimes as well as those committed by French collaborators and the Vichy government do honor to his memory."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson took to Twitter to say: "Jacques Chirac was a formidable political leader who shaped the destiny of his nation in a career that spanned four decades. His loss will be felt throughout France, across the generations."
The message was followed by words of condolences to the Chirac family and the French people written in French.
Conveying condolences on behalf of Spain, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: "Prime minister, Paris mayor and president of the French Republic: a leader who left a mark in European politics has passed away."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, sent a telegram to convey condolences to Bernadette Chirac, the wife of the late ex-president.
"In a telegram, the head of the Russian state emphasized that an entire epoch in the modern history of France was connected with Chirac. Putin noted that as the republic's president, Chirac had earned well-deserved respect from his compatriots and great international authority as a wise and far-sighted statesman who consistently defended the interests of his country," the Kremlin said.
Putin also stressed that he sincerely admired Chirac's "intelligence and vast knowledge, as well as his ability to make balanced decisions even in the most difficult situations."
RUSSIA MISSES 'CHIRAC APPROACH' IN POLICY OF EUROPE
Commenting on Chirac's death, Russian Ambassador in Paris Alexey Meshkov said that Russia "has lost a great friend."
"For us, this is a very sad event because Russia has lost a great friend; whole Europe and the world have lost an outstanding European politician," Meshkov told Sputnik.
The ambassador noted that Chirac had a "great knowledge of our culture and our literature, loved it very much."
In the youth, Chirac took Russian language lessons from a Russian emigre officer. He read Alexander Pushkin in the original language and even translated his novel in verse Eugene Onegin into French.
The diplomat recalled that that it was the initiative of Putin and Chirac to launch 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial talks between the two nations.
Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Russian lower house's international affairs, said that Chirac was a "world-renowned politician, perhaps of the same scale as Charles de Gaulle."
He highlighted that a whole epoch had gone with this loss.
"In bilateral relations with Russia, Jacques Chirac always focused on constructive things, he knew and loved Russian literature, he quoted classics quite freely in Russian. Unfortunately, in today's dialogue with Paris, we lack that 'Chirac' approach," Slutsky told reporters, expressing his condolences.
Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, echoed that "the Great French," among other things, would be memorable for the principled stance that he, jointly with Putin and then-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, had taken on the US-UK invasion of Iraq in the first place.
