The era of establishment politics in France has ostensibly ended. Former French President Jacques Chirac, heir to the countrys Fifth Republic, has died, AFP and BBC News reported. He was 86.

Chirac spent his professional life as a member of the Fifth Republic, the postwar government that Charles de Gaulle enacted in 1958. He held positions with every single presidency in France from 1958 until he himself became president in 1995, following Franois Mitterrand.

His trajectory is particularly notable at a time when establishment politics in France appears to no longer be in vogue, with fringe candidates, such as the extreme right-ring National Fronts Marine Le Pen, joining the mainstream.

Chirac, born Nov. 29, 1932, grew up in Paris as an only child. He attended some of the citys best schools and then went on to study at Sciences Po, one of Frances most prestigious universities for the study of social sciences, and the Ecole National de lAdministration, Frances premier institution for budding civil servants.