FACTBOX: Former French President Chirac

(Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac was ordered to stand trial for embezzlement of public funds during his time as mayor of Paris.

Here are key facts about Chirac:

-- Chirac was born on November 29, 1932. He studied at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the institution that has traditionally educated France's political elite.

-- He became French president in 1995 after two spells as prime minister and 18 years as Paris mayor (1977-1995) established him as the major force of France's right wing.

-- He did not stand for a record third term and left office after the victory of Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election of May 2007.

-- Chirac lost his presidential immunity from prosecution after leaving office and was questioned by judges over various graft cases, mostly linked to his time as Paris mayor.

-- He was formally placed under investigation in November 2007 over allegations that jobs in the Paris city hall were wrongfully handed out to political sympathizers who were actually working for the ruling center-right party rather than city authorities. He denied any wrongdoing.

-- He has now been ordered to stand trial over the charges but the case may not end up in court if the state prosecutor, who opposed a trial, launches an appeal within five days.

-- Chirac's record as French president is hard to assess, consisting as much of symbolic gestures as concrete policies. Once an anti-European Gaullist, he became one of Europe's main standard-bearers. Also a lover of all things American, he led France's opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq war in 2003.

-- Since leaving office in 2007 he has maintained a low profile, devoting himself mainly to writing his memoirs and working for his charitable foundation, which supports "dialogue between cultures."

He lives in central Paris with his wife Bernadette in an apartment that belongs to the family of assassinated Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.