Hundreds of fans joined film legends and family members to bid farewell to British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin at her funeral in Paris on Monday.
The coffin of Birkin was carried into the Saint-Roch church in Paris by her daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon – both also celebrated singers and actors – while a crowd of fans also gathered outside.
French screen legends such as Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni and Isabelle Huppert attended the ceremony.
They were joined by French first lady Brigitte Macron and Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak.
Birkin's songs, including "La Javanaise", played through speakers across Paris's first arrondissement.
Birkin was catapulted to fame through her turbulent relationship with legendary singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
The flowers covering the square in front of the church were evidence of the affection with which Birkin was held in France, her adopted country.
The family had made clear that access to the church was reserved to close family and friends, but a giant screen was set up outside to allow the wider public to follow the ceremony.
A sense of emptiness
Her voice choking with emotion, Charlotte Gainsbourg paid tribute to her mother as she addressed the congregation saying: "Now I am an orphan". Her father Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991.
"I see already the emptiness that she has left behind, she is my mum, our mum," she added.
Doillon said: "Mum, thank you for all these adventures, thank you for not being ordinary, reasonable or docile".
Many of the hundreds gathered outside had tears in their eyes. Marie-Pierre Frapart, 63, said she had "come to pay tribute to our little Englishwoman".
Birkin, who had been suffering from health problems in recent years that had forced her to cancel concerts, was found dead at her Paris home on 16 July, aged 76.
French President Emmanuel Macron, currently in New Caledonia, had called Birkin "a complete artist" who "sang the most beautiful words in our language".
(with AFP)
