Chirac has reportedly suffered from a degenerative neurological disorder in recent years, leading prosecutors to spare him the embarrassment of having to appear in court during his 2011 corruption trial.
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Chirac, 83, was vacationing in Morocco when he was stricken.
Twitter saw an immediate outpouring of goodwill messages from political protegees of the leader, who was French president from 1995 to 2007, including from former President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Prime Minister Alain Juppe.
Mr Chirac has been suffering from the consequences of a cerebrovascular accident in September 2005 when he was still president. He was hospitalised in December previous year, officially for a health check-up.
His entourage said that in recent weeks, his health had improved.
A lung infection has forced former French president Jacques Chirac to seek treatment in a Paris hospital, news agency AFP reports, citing family members. Instead, he was convicted and given a two-year suspended sentence for colluding in the creation of fake jobs for party workers while mayor in Paris.
In 2002, he survived an assassination attempt by a man described as an emotionally disturbed neo-Nazi.
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Juppe tweeted: “I am thinking affectionately of Jacques Chirac”.
