PARIS: France on Thursday bid farewell to former prime minister Lionel Jospin, with President Emmanuel Macron leading a national tribute to the influential left?wing statesman credited with major welfare reforms.
Jospin, who introduced the 35-hour work week when he was head of government from 1997 to 2002, died on Sunday aged 88.
The ceremony took place at the historic Les Invalides national monument, the resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the presence of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, top left-wing politicians, and other high-profile guests.
Jospin’s widow, the philosopher Sylviane Agacinsky, 80, was in attendance.
Members of the Republican Guard carried the casket draped in a French flag into the courtyard to the beat of a drum before Macron read a eulogy, saying Jospin fought for justice and freedom.
