About 30 foreign leaders, including
Russian President
Vladimir Putin, gathered on Monday in the French capital for the funeral of former president Jacques Chirac, who died last week aged 86.
Chirac was feted by many French people for asserting the country's role as a global player and for opposing the 2003 invasion of
Iraq, while a conviction after he left office for misusing public funds did little to tarnish his image.
Military honors will be paid to Chirac at the Hotel des Invalides in central
Paris, where he has been lying in state, before his coffin is taken in a procession to the church of Saint Sulpice.