Crowds gathered along the streets of Saint-Tropez as the coffin of French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot was driven through the town following her funeral.
Bardot died last month at the age of 91.
She rose to international fame in her early twenties with the film And God Created Woman, her tousled hair and fierce screen presence capturing a new form of sexual freedom that resonated in 1950s France.
Affectionately known as “BB”, Bardot became both a defining sex symbol of her era and a lasting cultural figure, emblematic of shifting social attitudes.
She was also the first celebrity chosen to model for a bust of Marianne, the symbolic embodiment of the French Republic displayed in town halls across the country.
“For me, Brigitte Bardot is France,” said singer Mireille Mathieu, 79, who performed at the funeral.
“She was the most beautiful woman in the world,” Mathieu told reporters, praising “that freedom she (Bardot) had, that boldness to say what she thought”.
The funeral was held at Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church in Saint-Tropez.
Inside, a black-and-white photograph of Bardot holding a baby seal was displayed near her coffin, accompanied by the words “Merci Brigitte” (Thank you Brigitte).
The coffin was covered with mostly orange and yellow flowers.
Outside the church, one attendee held a placard reading, “The animals thank Brigitte Bardot”.
Bardot appeared in 42 films, with her final screen role in 1973.
She later distanced herself from the film industry, describing the world of cinema as “rotten”.
She subsequently devoted herself to animal rights activism, while her political views shifted towards the far-right National Front.
Her incendiary remarks on immigration, Islam and homosexuality led to multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen was among those present at Wednesday’s funeral.
Bardot had publicly supported successive National Front leaders, Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter Marine, whom she once described as “the Joan of Arc of the 21st century”.
Also in attendance was Aurore Berge, the government’s minister for equality and a defender of animal rights, who represented President Emmanuel Macron’s administration.
Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was also among the guests.
Following the funeral, Bardot is to be buried in strict privacy at a cemetery in Saint-Tropez, the town where she spent much of her later life behind high walls, surrounded by many cats, dogs and horses.
A public tribute for local residents and admirers will take place later in the day at the Pré des Pêcheurs in La Ponche, the historic heart of the former fishing village.
Images: Picryl
