Édouard Balladur, who served as prime minister of France from 1993 to 1995, died on Monday at the age of 97. He led a "cohabitation" government under Socialist president François Mitterrand before waging a bitter battle for the presidency against his friend Jacques Chirac in 1995 – a race he ultimately lost.
French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to former prime minister Édouard Balladur, describing him on X as a "demanding, measured, and devoted servant" of France, who had "devoted his life to the Fifth Republic".