The ceremony will take place on Monday morning in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Only relatives will have access to the church, but the giant screen will allow the general public to be included.
Stars and anonymous faces will say goodbye to Jane Birkin, “former groupie of the sixties” as she sang, on the occasion of the funeral of the French’s beloved Englishwoman this Monday at Saint-Roch Church in Paris.
The ceremony should take place from 10:00. If access to this church, located in the 1st arrondissement, is restricted to relatives, the broadcast will allow the public to gather outside.
“General Public Association” with an intimate ceremony
A source close to the family told AFP on Friday that access to the church would be “reserved for family and friends.”
Amid nationwide unrest over the news of the death of the singer and actress, last Sunday at the age of 76, steps were taken to ensure that, no matter what, her fans were present at the funeral.
“The ceremony will be broadcast live on a giant screen at the corner of Rue Saint-Honoré and Rue des Pyramides” to “link it to the general public,” his relatives told AFP.
This Londoner, who adopted a natural Frenchwoman but remained English in the collective unconscious with her delightful mistakes in accent, was part of the landscape for more than half a century and her meeting with Serge Gainsbourg on the set of a film in the late 1960s.
“My Jane, thanks to your talent, your elegant free beauty, your sharp, creepy and British humor, you accompanied our dark youth. We wanted to be you or Serge,” wrote Etienne Daho, a singer who became a close friend and co-author of the singer’s latest album, in his tribute. Oh ! I’m sorry you slept….
“Icon”
“Because she represented freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon,” President Emmanuel Macron also greeted on Twitter.
His death affected not only celebrities and politicians. Ever since the artist was discovered lifeless in her Parisian home by her assistant, anonymous admirers have flocked, sometimes with flowers in hand, to 5 bis rue Verneuil (7th arrondissement). The place where she lived with Serge Gainsbourg, when the couple personified the union of chic and outrageous, accompanied by the scent of their duo’s scandal. I love you… me too.
The legendary Parisian home, which remained Gainsbourg’s lair after the departure of Jane Birkin in the early 1980s, tired of her excesses, is due to open its doors to the public on September 20, as well as the museum dedicated to the singer-musician, located on the sidewalk opposite. Flowers were also hung on the palisade around the actress’s house. Pool owns in Britain.
“We will miss you terribly”
Interpreter’s funeral Running away from happiness lest it run away will also have international resonance. “My dear Jane is gone,” wrote Marianne Faithfull, another English artist, on social media. SwingingLondon 1960s and who subsequently settled in Paris (before returning to the United Kingdom).
“Jane Birkin was a beautiful and unique woman,” responded Iggy Pop, an American rock figure with whom she duetted on TV across the Atlantic in 2020.
The disappearance of the singer chic lingeriedied of natural causes, according to others, occurred when Jane Birkin was planning to return to the stage after numerous health problems (leukemia, stroke).
“A few days ago you told me that you wanted to get back on stage and hit the road again. Repeat this Olympia that you had to postpone. We are confident in the future,” said Etienne Daho. “For a few days she was walking again, was motivated to reschedule her Olympia and decided to regain her independence. Only this first night will be the last,” can we also read from the pen of her two daughters, Charlotte Gainsbourg (daughter of Serge) and Lou Doillon (daughter of director Jacques Doillon).
“You will find your parents, Kate (daughter born of a union with the British composer John Barry, died in 2013), Serge, your friends and your dogs. And we will miss you terribly, ”concluded Etienne Daho.