France joins world in paying tribute to former US president Jimmy Carter
French President Emmanuel Macron joined world leaders to pay tribute to former United States president Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, aged 100.
Flags are flying half-mast in the United States, which will hold a national day of mourning for Carter on 9 January, announced President Joe Biden.
Carter was “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” who “saved, lifted and changed the lives of people all across the globe,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
President-elect Donald Trump, who Carter had called an "illegitimate president", said Americans owe Carter "a debt of gratitude".
"While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realised that he truly loved and respected our country," Trump wrote on social media.
Peace activism
In one of the first reactions from abroad, French President Emmanuel Macron said Carter had "been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace".
Uniquely among modern US presidents, much of Carter's legacy came after he left the White House.
During his term in office, the country faced an economic recession, and Carter was persistently unpopular, and lost reelection in a landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan
Post White House legacy
(with newswires)
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