Former French president Jacques Chirac dies age 86

Jacques Chirac, the former French president has died aged 86 according to local media reports.

"President Jacques Chirac died this morning surrounded by his family, peacefully," his son-in-law told AFP.

Chirac served two terms as French president from 1995 to 2007 and is best known for taking his country into the euro and reforming the presidential terms of office reducing the term-limit from seven to five years.

He was also seen as the focus of opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

But after serving as prime minister, he was involved in a series of corruption scandals over questionable party funding.

Chirac suffered a stroke in 2005 and then again in 2014. The exact cause of death is unknown, but he had reportedly been hospitalised several times over the past decade due to a lung infection.

The president of the European Commission and former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "moved and devastated" to learn the news.

"Europe is not only losing a great statesman, but the president is losing a great friend," his spokeswoman quoted Juncker.