(FILES) French Economy Minister Edouard Balladur chats with his wife Marie-Josèphe during the campaign meeting of the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) party candidate and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac in Paris on February 9, 1988.. Former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur died on August 31, 2026 in Paris at the age of 97, his family told AFP. (Photo by PASCAL GEORGE / AFP via Getty Images)