France pays homage to its 'most admired woman'

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France pays homage to Simone Veil, the country's "most admired woman."

Veil, France's women's rights champion and Auschwitz survivor, died last week and will be honored in a national ceremony at the Pantheon in Paris on Wednesday.

Dignitaries and politicians from France and around Europe gathered to pay their respect to Veil who, in the words of President Emmanuel Macron, led "all the struggles of the last century – for women, Europe, justice and human dignity."

Veil's coffin is carried into the Invalides. / AFP Picture

The coffin of the beloved politician, who died aged 89 on June 30, arrived at the Hotel des Invalides – which houses Napoleon's tomb – draped in the French flag and carried by Republican guards to the sound of Chopin's Funeral March.

French president Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech in honor of Veil, who was voted the country's most admired woman in a 2015 poll.

Macron paid tribute to Veil's "astonishing life," saying France reserved a word for people like her – "greatness."

The president said Veil's battles, notably to legalize abortion in France, were the "combats of the century."

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech in honor of Veil. / AFP Picture

"She loved Europe, she always defended it because she knew that at the heart of this dream, there was above all this wish for peace and freedom for which she fought so hard," Macron said.

"Madame, you have lavished upon our nation gifts which have made it better and more beautiful country," Macron added. "It is France and the whole of Europe who can testify to your struggles, I ask you to receive the thanks of the French people. "

(Source: AFP)