PARIS, September 26. /TASS/. Former French President Jacques Chirac has passed away at the age of 86, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported, citing his family.

According to his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux, Chirac passed away on Thursday morning, surrounded by his family.

Jacques Chirac was born in 1932 to a middle-class family. As a college student, he fell for left-wing ideas but it was his joining the Gaullism movement that proved crucial. During Charles de Gaulle's presidency, Chirac was elected to parliament and entered the cabinet for the first time.

At the age of 40, Chirac took the helm of the French government but soon was elected mayor of Paris and remained in that position for 18 years.

From 1995 to 2007, Chirac served as French President. He made over 300 foreign visits, including more than ten visits to Russia. Being a fan of Russian literature, in his youth Chirac learned Russian and even translated a chapter of Alexander Pushkin’s novel Eugene Onegin into French. The former French president was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Order for Merit to the Fatherland.