French President Jacques Chirac was going to Beirut on Wednesday to pay his condolences to the wife and family of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, assassinated Monday, Chirac's office said. Chirac and Hariri were friends. The French leader presented Hariri with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, France's most prestigious award, in 1996. France has asked for an international investigation into Hariri's death in a bombing. In Beirut, Chirac planned to pay hommage to Hariri as «the person who always incarnated Lebanon's desire for independence, freedom and democracy,» Chirac's office said. «He will mark the unfailing friendship of France and the French people for Lebanon and the Lebanese people.»
