Fans and personalities gathered for a farewell to actor Michel Blanc

(Paris) Personalities and a thousand fans came to pay a final tribute to the “anxious clown” on Thursday in Paris, during the funeral of actor Michel Blanc, who died at the age of 72.

The ceremony took place in the Saint-Eustache church, located in the heart of the city where the actor lived, noted AFP.

Several personalities took part, such as his friends from the flagship Splendid troupe, including Gérard Jugnot and Josiane Balasko, but also the first lady Brigitte Macron and the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.

Outside, hundreds of anonymous people and admirers have gathered in front of the gates which demarcate a security perimeter. Many of them managed to force their way into the crowded church pews. Those who failed can follow the ceremony thanks to a sound broadcast on the square.

A major actor in comedic cinema in the 1980s before moving towards dramatic roles and a career as a director, Michel Blanc suffered a heart attack during the night from Thursday to Friday and was transported to a Parisian hospital where he died.

Popular since the film’s success The BronzedMichel Blanc alternated between laughter and emotion while exploring the human soul in front of and behind the camera.

“He was a simple man who never got a big head, who we could have invited to our table at home,” says Monique Picard, 72, who praises the actor’s “extraordinary cinematography,” of which The Bronzed that she watches when she has “a bout of the blues”.

“He’s a person who made us laugh, we watched all his films. We are there out of curiosity and admiration and to pay homage to him,” confides Jean, 74, who did not wish to give his name.

The death of the eternal Jean-Claude Dusse, this character as exasperating as he is touching who for a time confined Michel Blanc in the roles of hypochondriac or clumsy, has sparked a shower of tributes.

Upon the announcement of his death, Head of State Emmanuel Macron spoke of the loss of a “monument of French cinema”, while Prime Minister Michel Barnier estimated that “we all (had) a little bit of Michel Blanc in us.”

Director of public success Walk in the shade (1984), the actor distinguished himself in dramatic films such as Mr Hire (1989), after Simenon, and The Witnesses (2007) by André Téchiné, playing a homosexual doctor suffering from AIDS.

Nominated four times for the César for best actor, he won the precious statuette in 2012 for his supporting role as chief of staff in the political thriller State Exercise.