The French Reunited to Honor Chirac’s Memory

On Sunday, the French were able to bid farewell to one of their favorite presidents by marching in front of the coffin of Jacques Chirac, exhibited at the Invalides in Paris.

Thousands have traveled to say goodbye to Jacques Chirac. Three days after the death of the former head of state, his coffin was displayed in a popular tribute to the Invalides on Sunday, September 29. The first visitors, some of whom were waiting in front of the gates as early as dawn, were able to enter the Invalides courtyard from 2 p.m. before gathering in front of the coffin, installed at the entrance to the Saint-Louis cathedral.

The tribute to the figure who was a figure of political life for 40 years began with an inter-religious ceremony in front of his body, in the presence of the Chirac family, but without his wife Bernadette, too weak.

The crowd then started marching in front of the coffin, which was displayed at the entrance to the Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral. Covered with the blue-white-red flag, it was placed under a giant portrait of the former president and between two columns in the colors of the French flag and the European flag.

Outside the Hotel des Invalides, in a quiet and quiet setting, about 7000-8000 people in the impressive queue, extended in the middle of the afternoon over 600-700 meters. In the crowd, a « Farewell President, We Are Missing You » sign, flowers… Some have been waiting since the morning, despite the rains.

Between Thursday and Saturday, about 5,000 people, some of them young, rushed to sign condolences registers at the Elysée palace and express their « tenderness » and admiration for Jacques Chirac, who was never more popular than after his withdrawal from politics, now considered by his fellow citizens to be the best president of the Fifth Republic, on par with Charles de Gaulle.

More than 60,000 million French people signed the guestbook in memory of the former president who for 40 years stood alongside the French, from the poorest to the richest.

Due to the very high number of people, the Invalides courtyard was open all night long.

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Gabriel MIHAI

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