Former French president Jacques Chirac has died at the age of 86.
After he was elected in 1995, relations between Israel and France declined due to his support of Yasser Arafat during the first stages of the Second Intifada. He also criticized Israel for the Second Lebanon War in 2006, but he is also known for his recognition of the collaborationist Vichy government's role in deporting Jews during the Holocaust. As prime minister, he approved the sale to Iraq of the Osirak nuclear reactor to Iraq, which Israel destroyed in 1981.