Brigitte Bardot, the French film star turned animal rights activist, has been laid to rest after a funeral ceremony in Saint-Tropez on Wednesday. The service at the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church was broadcast on large screens across the town, drawing crowds of mourners.
Bardot died aged 91 on 28 December at her La Madrague villa. Her husband, Bernard d’Ormale, told Paris Match she had died of cancer, having undergone two operations before the disease claimed her. Attendees included her son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, 65, singers Jean-Roch and Mireille Mathieu, TV personality Caroline Margeridon, and Canadian-American activist Paul Watson.
The funeral was also marked by the presence of Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party. Bardot had long admired Le Pen, calling her a modern-day Joan of Arc, while Le Pen cited Bardot as a symbol of Frenchness. The Bardo’s coffin entered the church to a song by Maria Callas, with cheers rising as the procession passed through Place des Lices and the port.
Bardot rose to fame in the 1950s with films such as And God Created Woman, becoming a symbol of sexual liberation. She retired from acting in the 1970s to campaign for animal rights but also faced controversy for her far-right political views, being convicted five times for hate speech, particularly against Muslims. Despite this, she remained supportive of Le Pen’s anti-immigration party.
Not everyone celebrated her legacy. Sandrine Rousseau, a Green party politician, criticised her, saying: “To be moved by the fate of dolphins but remain indifferent to the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean – what level of cynicism is that?” The funeral, as described by a spokesperson for Bardot’s foundation, was simple and reflected her character, with no doubt some surprises.
