France bids farewell to screen legend Alain Delon

Paris, France - As tributes for film legend Alain Delon poured in from around the globe following his death at 88, France was preparing on Monday its farewell to one of its greatest stars.

No national tribute has been planned, as Delon had made it clear he did not want one. He said he wanted to be buried near his dogs on his property in Douchy in central France where he died.

He had already started sounding out the local authorities there, Christophe Hurault, the sub-prefect of Loiret, told AFP. The prefecture "had given its agreement in principle".

His three children, Anthony, Anouchka, and Alain-Fabien, having squabbled bitterly for months over his medical treatment, spoke in a unified voice Sunday when they announced their father's death.

Now they have to manage the funeral of the screen icon, deciding whether to limit it to close family or extend it to the cinema world.

Delon, naturally, dominated the front pages of France's newspapers Monday, many of them featuring full-page portraits of the actor in his prime.

"The Last Samurai", wrote Le Figaro for its front-page headline, a reference to one of his most famous roles, as the enigmatic assassin in Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 thriller Le Samourai.

Delon with Romy Schneider in Christine (1958)Photo by Roger Viollet via AFP

End of an era

Delon's performances in some of the greatest films of the 1960s and '70s were widely praised, his charisma on screen impossible to ignore.

He was one of the last living legends of a golden era for French cinema in the 1960s.

Fellow '60s star Brigitte Bardot, 89, told AFP Delon "leaves a huge void that nothing, nobody, can fill".

French President Emmanuel Macron called him a "French monument" who "played legendary roles and made the world dream".

His death was covered by newspapers around the world, with the New York Times, Washington Post, and New York Post all publishing lengthy obituaries.

The Washington Post described him as the "angel-faced tough guy of international cinema", while The Hollywood Reporter said he was the "seductive star of European cinema".

"Mesmeric and beautiful, Alain Delon was one of cinema's most mysterious stars," The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw wrote.

Germany's Spiegel called him "Europe's James Dean", while Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the "aura of the handsome angel of death made him a legend".

Italy, where he spent much of his career, also gave extensive coverage to his passing. "There will never be another actor like Delon, unique and immortal", wrote Il Corriere della Sera.

La Stampa and La Repubblica bid "adieu to the legend of French cinema".

"For me, he was a legend," 26-year-old moviegoer Victor Roussel told AFP before a showing of his 1963 film The Leopard at a Paris cinema Sunday.

"Alain Delon really represents French cinema with a capital 'C'".

Controversial views

While he had legions of fans around the world, his personal life and political opinions divided opinion.

Delon's relationship with women caused controversy. His sons accused him of domestic violence, which Delon denied while admitting to slapping women during quarrels.

Delon also drew criticism for supporting Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, who was in favour of the death penalty and spoke against same-sex relationships.

Feminists were also appalled by the lifetime achievement award the Cannes Film Festival gave him in 2019.

He lived his later years largely as a recluse, though his personal life kept him in the headlines.

In 2023, his three children filed a complaint against his live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin, accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour.

The siblings went on to wage a public battle in the media and the courts, arguing over his health, which worsened after a stroke in 2019.

Delon lived out his final years in the small village of Douchy, surrounded by high walls, where he planned to be buried not far from his dogs.

Outside the entrance to his home, dozens of fans placed flowers to pay their respects.

"In our minds, we believe that these icons are eternal," said Marie Arnold, laying white flowers with her sister Michele.

"It's a part of our youth that is gone, it's very sad."

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© Agence France-Presse