Emmanuel Macron, at the national farewell to actor Jean-Paul Belmondo Michel Euler / AP
To the family, friends and screen colleagues who wanted to say a last public goodbye there was no doubt: Jean-Paul Belmondo would have outlined once again that great smile that he immortalized in so many of his films if he had been able to see the great national tribute that he offered his country this Thursday in Les Invalides in Paris.
The ceremony, solemn and somewhat festive at the same time, was presided over by the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, who after learning of the death of the French actor, this Monday at the age of 88, did not hesitate to describe him as a deserving "national treasure" of a few honors of State reserved to very few personalities of France.
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French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88
Jean-Paul Belmondo, the splendor of the true
“We loved Jean-Paul Belmondo because he looked like us. We admired him, he made us laugh. Belmondo was a bit us, but for the better, "said Macron, celebrating a" hero with a thousand faces "who was" like family. " Belmondo knew how "to cross styles, eras, break all barriers" accompanying, for good and bad, France during more than six decades of changes on and off the big screen, he said. "Dear Jean-Paul, to lose you, today, for so many French men and women, is to lose an immense actor, a long magical moment of French cinema, and a part of our lives," added the president before saying goodbye with a simple "
Adieu , Bébel
”.
After a minute of silence and the intonation of
La Marseillaise,
the national anthem, the actor's coffin, covered with a large French flag, was carried on the shoulders of the Republican Guard from the courtyard of honor of Les Invalides, the traditional epicenter of honors to military where France has also fired, in recent years, personalities such as former president Jacques Chirac, former minister and activist Simone Veil or artist Charles Aznavour. His last public walk was made by Belmondo to the rhythm of
Chi Mai
by Ennio Morricone, soundtrack of the film
The Professional
, while an emotional audience applauded as the procession and the actor's family passed by.
"Wherever he is, I'm sure he's smiling, as always, very happy with this tribute," said, on behalf of the
Ace of Aces family
, one of his grandsons, Victor Belmondo. ”Throughout his life, [Belmondo] did not cease to seek happiness, but above all to give it. It was and will continue to be a sun (…). Have fun with those friends that you missed so much, "he wished, also accompanied by the actor's youngest daughter, Stella, 18 years old.
The admirers of
The Magnificent
had begun to arrive from early in the morning to Les Invalides, where they were greeted by a gigantic photograph of the actor, smiling as always. With a capacity limited to 1,000 people, most had to settle, however, with following the ceremony from the giant screens installed around the historic military compound where the remains of Napoleon also rest.
Inside doors, the patio had little to envy a red carpet. Among those who wanted to say goodbye to the actor who marked several generations of artists - and so many French people - were Jean Dujardin, Marion Cotillard, Albert Dupontel, Nathalie Baye or Gilles Lellouche, who described his friend Belmondo as a “fantastic human being, delicious, that gave the others zest for life. A sun". The actor and singer Patrick Bruel also declared himself "proud" to be able to call himself a friend of Belmondo, a man "who did not know a single enemy, no one ever said anything against him." The popular journalist and presenter Michel Drucker, a neighbor and friend of Belmondo, ventured for his part that, wherever he is now, the actor "will continue to laugh a lot" because he was an "immortal" star who "never took himself very seriously" in addition.
The sons and grandsons of Jean-Paul Belmondo parade behind the coffin with the actor's remains SplashNews.com / GTRES
Athletes and, above all, politicians also participated in the national tribute: in addition to members of Macron's cabinet, from Prime Minister Jean Castex to Culture Minister Rosselyne Bachelot, the former Socialist President François Hollande attended - accompanied by his couple, actress Julie Gayet—, former Minister of Culture Jack Lang or former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The conservative senator Bruno Retailleau, who recently resigned to appear in the primaries of the Republican party to elect a presidential candidate for 2022, or Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and who is preparing this Sunday to announce her own candidacy for the Elysee by the Socialist Party. He only missed farewell, on a sultry Parisian afternoon,his friend and partner Alain Delon.
After a last popular goodbye to
Bébel
- the doors of Les Invalides were opened in the afternoon for anyone who wanted to pay tribute to the actor - Belmondo's funeral will be celebrated this Friday in family privacy in the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-des -Press.
