France will lay to rest Bernadette Chirac, widow of former president Jacques Chirac, on Friday, in a funeral in Paris set to be attended by prominent figures from the worlds of politics and entertainment.
Bernadette Chirac, who stood by her late husband as first lady for 12 years while also forging her own, more covert political career, died on June 5 at the age of 93.
Her funeral will take place at Paris’ Sainte-Clotilde Basilica at 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT).
Guests anticipated to attend include current French first lady Brigitte Macron; two previous presidents, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande; and Sarkozy’s wife, model and singer Carla Bruni.
Catherine Vautrin, minister of defense, will represent the French government.
The basilica holds significance for Bernadette Chirac and her husband. The couple married at the nearby Sainte-Clotilde Chapel, which also hosted the funeral of their eldest daughter, Laurence, in 2016.
The couple’s daughter, Claude Chirac, told AFP that part of the basilica, which seats 650 people, will be open to the public and that the mass will be televised to those gathering outside.
Bernadette Chirac was a patron of various organizations during her life, but she also had her own political career as a long-time elected councilor for the couple’s rural home department of Corrèze.
She also served on the municipal council of the department’s small village of Sarran.
Correze will pay tribute to Chirac on Sunday, while councillors from the department will transport the former first lady’s casket to the Basilica of Saint-Clotilde.
She will be buried in the family plot in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, the capital of France.
