Former French PM Edouard Balladur dies aged 97: family

Former French prime minister Edouard Balladur died in Paris on Monday at the age of 97,his family told AFP.

Balladur,who was born in Turkey,served as President Francois Mitterrand's last prime minister from March 1993 to May 1995,carrying out several major privatisations of state companies,and unsuccessfully ran for the top job in 1995.

After a fierce campaign,he lost to his former political ally-turned-rival,Jacques Chirac,who would remain president until 2007.

President Emmanuel Macron said Balladur was a man who "had France at heart" and a "devoted servant of the nation",while former president Nicolas Sarkozy said he had lost "an example,a mentor and a friend".

"Tonight,I mourn the loss of one of the men who mattered most in my life," Sarkozy wrote on X.

His family told AFP that a private mass will be held for Balladur,without giving further details.