The funeral of Bernadette Chirac is taking place this Friday, June 12, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. in the Sainte-Clotilde Basilica, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Widowed from former president Jacques Chirac, the former First Lady died on June 5 at the age of 93. Nearly a week after her passing, the capital pays tribute to her in a building deeply tied to the couple’s history, ahead of a second ceremony slated for Sunday in Corrèze.
The choice of the Sainte-Clotilde Basilica is no accident. It is in the chapel of the same name, just nearby, that Bernadette and Jacques Chirac were married on March 16, 1956, a moment marking 70 years ago today. The same building hosted the 2016 funeral Mass for their eldest daughter, Laurence. The family thus selected a venue that runs through its intimate history. With its 650 seats, part of the basilica is kept open to the public, as their daughter Claude Chirac noted. The forecourt has also been wired for sound so that those who cannot enter can follow the Mass from outside.
Many prominent figures from politics and entertainment are expected to attend, but the ceremony features only one address: that of its sole grandson, Martin Rey-Chirac, 30. Brigitte Macron, who succeeded Bernadette Chirac at the helm of the Fondation des Hôpitaux, the force behind the Pièces jaunes initiative, is present.
We’re also expecting former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the singer and actress Line Renaud, who is very close to the family, as well as many former colleagues and friends. Former President François Hollande, elected from Corrèze like Bernadette Chirac, has confirmed to AFP that he will attend. The government is represented by Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin. It will be Corrèze departmental councillors who carry the coffin of the former First Lady.
Following the Paris ceremony, Bernadette Chirac was laid to rest in the family vault at the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. A second tribute will be held on Sunday, June 14 in Corrèze, the couple’s political and historic homeland. The day will begin with a religious service at 10:00 in the town of Corrèze, followed at 14:00 by a “friendly moment of remembrance” at the Domaine de Sédières, open to “all Corréziens dear to her heart,” in the words of Claude Chirac. This region holds a special place in her life: born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, she remains the only First Lady to have held political office under her own name, as a general councilor of Corrèze, a post she held without interruption from 1979 to 2015.
