French actor Alain Delon was buried Saturday at his private estate in Douchy, central France, in a closed, private ceremony attended by his three children and about 50 guests.
The burial, in accordance with Delon's wishes, was private and took place on his estate, which was possible after receiving the consent of the prefect of the department and fulfilling a number of strict conditions, notes the French portal BFM TV. The area around the estate was monitored by 80 gendarmes, and the surrounding roads were also closed.
READ MORE: Alain Delon is dead
“At the request of the family, the prefecture also banned flights over the property for the entire weekend. For safety reasons, mobile phones were also taken away from all participants in the funeral,” BFM TV added.
The funeral was attended by the actor's family and friends, including French film producer Alain Terzian and actor Julien Dereims, husband of Delon's daughter Anouchka. According to BFM TV, the only politicians invited to the funeral were the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and the head of the Ile-de-France region Valerie Pecresse.
Several hundred people gathered in front of the gate of the estate to pay tribute to the actor, including a minute of silence and the singing of the song “Paroles, paroles”, sung by Delon and Dalida.
Alain Delon's fans paid tribute to him in front of the estate where the funeral took placeEPA/Christophe PETIT TESSON
Claudia Cardinale, an 86-year-old star of Italian cinema, announced earlier that she could not attend the funeral of her film partner because she felt too much sadness over his death. Together they starred in one of the most famous masterpieces of Italian cinematography, the film “The Leopard” (Italian: “Gattopardo”) directed by Luchino Visconti in 1963. It is an adaptation of the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa about the Sicilian aristocracy in the 1860s, the time of the struggle for unification Italian.
Alain Delon – who was he
Delon was born on November 8, 1935 in Sceaux, a suburb of Paris. He played in films by Luchino Visconti (including “The Leopard”, 1963), Michelangelo Antonioni (the famous “Eclipse”, 1962), Joseph Losey (“Monsieur Klein”, 1976), Volker Schloendorff (“Swann's Loves”, 1983) – the greatest directors of his era. He played the leading roles in gangster films, comedies, melodramas and films that have become part of the history of cinematography. He appeared in over 90 films in total. Delon's specific style of acting was modeled on American acting. He was one of the greatest lovers of cinema.
Alain DelonIAN LANGSDON/EPA/PAP
Main image source: EPA/Christophe PETIT TESSON