FACTBOX-Key details about former French President Chirac

(Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac was placed under formal investigation on Wednesday on suspicion of 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, which 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 as president in this year's election and left office in May following the victory of his one-time protege, Nicolas Sarkozy.

-- Chirac lost his presidential immunity from prosecution one month later. He faces questioning by judges in a number of graft cases, mostly linked to his time as Paris mayor.

-- His 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. Once a lover of all things American, he led France's opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq war in 2003.

-- Since leaving office in May he has maintained a low profile. 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.

(Writing by Crispian Balmer)