Mourners have gathered in Paris to pay tribute to the former French president Jacques Chirac.

Hundreds of people have lined the streets of the French capital and queued at the Hotel des Invalides to say their final farewell. 

Chirac's coffin was transported through Paris on Sunday, and laid in state at the Invalides - a key public monument. His funeral takes place on Monday. 

One mourner told Reuters: "I want to write him a message from the bottom of my heart to pay tribute to him. He was a man of great stature with a lot of charisma and honesty, he was very close with people. In a way he was like a father for France," she said. 

As many as 30 heads of state are expected to attend Chirac's funeral on Monday, when he will be buried alongside his daughter Laurence in the historic Montparnasse cemetery.