Former French leader Chirac dies aged 86

It was also announced that the illuminations on Paris's iconic landmark the Eiff el Tower would be turned off on Thursday night in tribute.

One of the reasons for Chirac's support of a united Europe was as a bulwark of opposition to the increasing influence of the United States, in particular around the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but his opinions were not universally popular, causing a split with then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and also upsetting the states of the former Eastern bloc who joined the EU in subsequent years.

In 2005 Chirac supported the proposed new European constitution which was rejected by the French people in a referendum, leading him to say "If you want to shoot yourself in the foot, do it, but after don't complain … It's stupid, I'm telling you," and his authority was seriously undermined.