Former French president Jacques Chirac dies, aged 86

Former French President Jacques Chirac has died aged 86.

"He passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his loved ones," his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told the media.

The lower house of the French parliament observed a minute's silence in his memory.

President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a public engagement and is set to make a televised address later Thursday.

Chirac, who served as president from 1995 to 2007, was dogged by allegations of corruption during his later days.

In the last years of his life, he suffered from neurological problems and was rarely seen in public.