On Monday, a Slovak delegation left for France to attend the symbolic funeral of former French President Jacques Chirac, who passed away at the age of 86 last Thursday. According to the Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who is also part of the delegation, the flight also has a symbolic significance. The current Slovak government aircraft was bought from France and had served the former French president during his tenure and the French army had been using it until 2011.
Chirac was a centre-right politician who held the post of head of state between 1995 and 2007. From 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 he was the French prime minister and from 1977 to 1995 he served as mayor of Paris. He was the second longest serving French post-war president after his socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand.
