Despite thousands signing a petition demanding Veil be buried in the famous Pantheon monument, Veil's family had indicated that she would be buried at Montparnasse cemetery alongside her husband, who died in 2013.
But during the national homage to Veil at the Invalides in Paris on Wednesday President Emmanuel Macron announced that both Veil and her husband Antoine will be interred in the Pantheon.
“Simone Veil will rest alongside her husband at the Pantheon,” said Macron.
The president said he had decided to honour her with a place in the Pantheon to show “the immense gratitude of the French people to one of its most loved children.”
Located in Paris, the Pantheon is reserved solely for the remains of great French figures, although the vast majority are men, including Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Emile Zola.
Until now, only four women have been interred there: scientist Sophie Berthelot – wife of French chemist and politician Marcellin Berthelot, scientist Marie Curie, and two resistance fighters Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz and Germaine Tillion.
Two petitions on change.org had urged the French government to bestow the rare honour on Veil, with one of the letters saying she “deserves the Pantheon”.