This Wednesday, Saint-Tropez paid a final tribute to Brigitte Bardot, a global film icon and passionate animal rights activist, died at the age of 91. The ceremony, intended "simple and unfussy" organized by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, took place in private, with a limited selection of hand-picked guests.
The ceremony began after the funeral procession arrived at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. The wicker coffin, accompanied by flowers, was received by Nicolas-Jacques CharrierThe star's only son, who came especially from Oslo despite a long and tumultuous relationship with his mother, laid a bouquet of mimosa on which was simply inscribed: "To Mom"The emotion was palpable from the very first minutes of the tribute.
The songs of Mireille Mathieu and Vincent Niclo
À 12:09, the singer Mireille Mathieu opened the musical sequence of the ceremony by performing Panis Angelicus from the church altar. Before the ceremony, she had declared that Brigitte Bardot represented, for her, "France in the world". A few minutes later, Vincent niclo resumedAve Maria, re-orchestrated for the occasion. The singer had confided before the tribute: "I will have the honor, and I hope I will be able to channel my emotion, because I will be singing Ave Maria. I have never done it before; I am truly doing it for her and for the Foundation."
The music of the film Contempt, Jean-Luc Godard's masterpiece released in 1963 and emblematic of Brigitte Bardot's cinematic career, also resonated in the church, adding a symbolic and nostalgic dimension to the tribute.
Tributes from relatives and public figures
Max Guazzini, secretary general of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation since 2020 and former president of Stade Français rugby, paid tribute to "a myth", retracing his life and his commitment to the animal cause: "Brigitte was always there for every fight."
Allain Bougrain-DubourgThe current president of the League for the Protection of Birds, visibly moved, read a religious text from the altar. Chico Bouchikhi, co-founder of the Gipsy Kings, praised "A great friend, a true woman"recalling that Brigitte Bardot had been for him and his musicians "Our lucky charm and our fairy godmother".
