Former US President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Jacques Chirac following a funeral service for the former French leader in Paris on Monday.
"What a good representative for France he was because he was always upbeat, always positive, always very French, very protective of French interests but in a way that brought people together not drove them apart. I mean look who came today. He tried to bring people together,” Clinton told FRANCE 24’s Clovis Casali.
"Inclusive nationalism works better than exclusive nationalism in a world full of complex problems that cross national borders. It’s what we’re dealing with. That’s why I kind of wish old Jacques was around out there plugging along. And it’s an interesting thing because we didn’t agree on everything politically but these are where people on the right and the left should be able to agree that diverse groups make better decisions than lone geniuses. And that science is a better guide to making environmental policy and trying to preserve the species than just blatant self interest or ideological bent. I liked Chirac. I liked him and I’ll miss him.”
Clinton was amongst dozens of world leaders who joined mourners in Paris to pay their final respects to France’s former president, as the country held a national day of mourning.
