Former French President Jacques Chirac hospitalized

Former French President Jacques Chirac, 83, was admitted to hospital Sunday with a lung infection, his son-in-law said.

Chirac, who led France from 1995 to 2007, was “hospitalized this morning at Pitie-Salpetriere (hospital in Paris) to be treated for a lung infection,” Frederic Salat-Baroux said, adding he will remain there “in the coming days.”

The popular ex-president had just returned from a visit to Morocco, Salat-Baroux added.

A source close to the former president confirmed that he was conscious.

Chirac, who served two terms as head of state, is probably best remembered internationally for his opposition to the U.S. military intervention in Iraq in 2003.

A small stroke while in office in 2005 weakened him, and he is now rarely seen in public.

Last December he spent two weeks in hospital, suffering from what his family described as fatigue.