Chirac gets full military honours as France bids him farewell

PARIS, Sept 30 (AP): Former French President Jacques Chirac was given full military honors on Monday as past and current world leaders gathered in Paris to attend his final service.

On a mild, sunny morning, French President Emmanuel Macron cut a solemn figure as he presided over the ceremony near the site of Napoleon's tomb in the courtyard of Les Invalides.

A military band played the national anthem, "La Marseillaise," before Macron inspected the troops. Chirac's casket, covered with a Tricolor flag, was then carried to the center of the courtyard.

Macron, who did not speak, will also attend a memorial service at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in downtown Paris alongside dozens of French politicians and foreign officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Jordan's King Abdallah II.