Alain Delon expressed his desire to be buried just like “anyone else”, and this happened on Saturday, when the intimate funeral of the famous French actor took place.
The gates of Alain Delon’s estate, where fans said goodbye PHOTO Profimedia
The family insisted that the actor, who died last Sunday aged 88, had wanted his funeral to take place in “the strictest privacy”, only with a select group of relatives and friends. A few hours before the start of the ceremony, local police and gendarmes closed the main road, reports The Guardian.
At the gates of the estate known as La Brûlerie, just outside the village of Douchy in the Loiret, 85 miles southeast of Paris, only VIP mourners, most in black luxury SUVs with smoked windows, were allowed through .
Culture Minister Rachida Dati was among those invited to the funeral, as were Paul Belmondo, the son of Delon’s arch-rival Jean-Paul Belmondo, and actor Vincent Lindon, who gave a speech.
A wall of flowers slowly appeared on the tall gates at the gate of Delon’s home throughout the week as locals and fans made the pilgrimage to the property. By Saturday afternoon, defying heatstroke and dehydration, the flowers continued to arrive, and many people who paid their respects began to feel unwell from the heat.
Although Delon did not ask for a national ceremony, people wanted to pay their respects and more than 100 walked the few hundred meters from the village, many carrying bouquets to place at the entrance to La Brûlerie and signing a condolence book set up near the gates .
A group of fans held a minute’s silence before singing Paroles Paroles, Dalida and Delon’s 1973 hit, as the sun disappeared behind clouds and torrential rain began.
Delon had asked that his “end of life” companion, a Belgian Malinois named Loubo, be buried with him, but after protests by animal rights campaigners, the actor’s three children, Anthony, 59, Anouchka, 33 years, and Alain-Fabien, 30, agreed to keep the dog in the family. It is not clear who and where will keep Loubo; the three have been embroiled in a bitter public feud over their father in recent months.
Delon, who had planned his funeral down to the last detail, had specifically requested that it be conducted by Catholic priest Jean-Michel Di Falco, 82, former bishop of Gap in southeastern France, and old friend of the actor.
Mourners were asked to put away their mobile phones during the ceremony so no photos were taken. The local prefecture has banned aircraft and drones from flying over the property.
After obtaining special permission from the local prefect, Delon was buried in the chapel he built on the grounds of La Brûlerie, which he had owned since the 1970s and where he died. The chapel sits in a cemetery on the nearly 120-hectare property, where Delon buried at least 35 of his pet dogs.
Prefect Sophie Brocas told reporters outside the estate that every precaution had been taken to ensure the funeral took place in the strict privacy requested by the family. “This is the family’s wish and this is what we did”Brocas said.
Delon was a totemic figure of the renaissance of French cinema in the 1960s. He starred in a number of classic films, including Plein Soleil, Le Samouraî and Rocco and his brothers.
Once a familiar figure in Douchy, he has not been seen in the village for several years after suffering a stroke in 2019 and being diagnosed with slow-growing lymphoma in 2022.
