PARIS, August 31. /TASS/. France plans to send a representative to the funeral of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, French government spokesman Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

"We only learned a few minutes ago that Mikhail Gorbachev's funeral will be held on Saturday, so I can't tell you exactly who will represent France at this ceremony," he said. "But France will definitely be represented."

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences over the death of Gorbachev, calling him a "courageous and sincere reformer." He also expressed his conviction that the memory of the first president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, should encourage world leaders to solve problems "on the basis of reason and dialogue." French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that "his decisive role in modern history shows that courage allows us to make a choice in favor of peace." French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed condolences to "his family, relatives and the Russian people," noting Gorbachev's commitment to reform and dialogue and his personal role in the "peaceful end of the Cold War."

The first and only president of the USSR died on August 30 at the age of 91. Gorbachev held the highest government post for six years. He proclaimed a new course almost immediately after being elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1985, then headed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and proposed to establish the post of president and abolish the article of the constitution that enshrined the leading role of the Communist Party in domestic affairs. Many languages of the world at that time adopted the Russian words "perestroika" and "glasnost." Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on December 25, 1991, the same time the Soviet Union ceased to exist. A memorial service for Gorbachev will be held in Moscow on September 3.