FRANCE began preparations yesterday for its final farewell to former President Francois Mitterrand, who died in Paris on Monday after a long battle with prostate cancer.
A national day of mourning will be observed tomorrow to mark the funeral, and there will also be a Mass in Notre Dame cathedral. This will be attended by a host of world leaders.
President Jacques Chirac, Mr Mitterrand's longtime adversary, said France should "reflect on the message" left by Mr Mitterrand, the country's longest serving head of state who had ruled for 14 years.
Mourners yesterday continued to arrive outside the flat near the Eiffel Tower where he had lived since leaving office last May and piles of single red roses the symbol of the Socialist Party he founded built up in Rue Frederic Le Play. Political leaders and friends continued to arrive to pay their last respects.
Tomorrow Mr Mitterrand's body will be flown to his hometown of Jarnac in southwestern France, where he will be buried in a private family ceremony.
The Notre Dame funeral Mass will be attended by a host of foreign leaders, including the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, the German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, President Ezer Weizman of Israel, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Felipe Gonzalez and the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin. The White House said President Clinton would not attend, but a "high level official" would represent the United States.
Flags will fly at half mast on all public buildings, while public offices and schools will observe a minute's silence to coincide with the start of the funeral. Sporting events will take place as usual, at the family's request, but matches will begin with a minute's silence.
Today French Socialists are holding a rally at the Place de Ia Bastille in the shadow of a huge image of Mr Mitterrand, surrounded by garlands of red roses.
Meanwhile tributes continued to pour in from abroad and the French press mourned Mr Mitterrand's demise with lengthy special supplements devoted to his life and political career. Le Parisien summed up the general sentiment, saying "With Francois Mitterrand goes the last of the great French politicians to have lived through the tragedies of the century and to have played a role in them."
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, may be one of the few public figures to attend the actual funeral, which Mr Mitterrand wanted to be strictly private, French officials said.
An Iraqi Kurd party said yesterday it had decreed three days of official mourning for the former French president, whom it described as "one of the greatest defenders" of the Kurdish people. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said special programmes devoted to Mr Mitterrand would be broadcast on Kurdish television and radio. Mr Mitterrand's widow, Danielle, has campaigned for the Kurds of Iraq and Turkey as head of the humanitarian organisation France Liberte.