Alain Delon, the French cinema icon who died on Sunday aged 88, will be buried in a private ceremony in central France on Saturday.
Cinema legend Alain Delon, who died aged 88, will be buried on Saturday, a Catholic priest who will conduct the service told AFP. Jean-Michel Di Falco, a former bishop in the southeastern town of Gap, said he had been asked by the actor to conduct his funeral service. He did not give a place or time for the ceremony, but French news channels CNews and BFMTV said it would take place at 5:00 p.m. (15:00 GMT) in Douchy-Montcorbon, a village in central France where Delon had an estate of surrounded by high walls and where he spent his last years.
Delon had said he did not want a national memorial event, but a burial next to his dogs at his estate in Douchy. Such a burial on private property requires special permission from local authorities, which has now been granted by the prefect of the Loiret region, a source familiar with the application process told AFP. France has paid tribute to Delon, one of the country’s biggest stars, who was also overshadowed by controversy.
He was one of the last living legends of a golden age for French cinema in the 1960s. 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 the women during arguments.
Delon was also criticized for supporting Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of the far-right National Front, who favored the death penalty and spoke out against same-sex relationships.
Feminists were also horrified by the lifetime achievement award the Cannes Film Festival gave him in 2019. He lived his last years largely as a recluse, although 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 behavior.
The siblings continued to wage a public battle in the media and the courts, arguing over his health, which deteriorated after a stroke in 2019.