After the death of a loved one, funerals are often dreaded. Those of Françoise Hardy were no exception to the rule. Jacques and Thomas Dutronc, the one who was her husband until the end of his life and their son, met onlookers and Françoise’s relatives for a last tribute at the dome of the crematorium of the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris . No religious ceremony or speeches, according to the wishes of the artist who died at the age of 80, but the broadcast of her greatest titles and moments of contemplation.
Many personalities made the trip, such as Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Nicolas Sarkozy, Marc Lavoine, Laurent Voulzy and even Étienne Daho, who accompanied Françoise Hardy to the end. However, two big singing stars were missing: Alain Souchon and Véronique Sanson were not present, held up by their respective tours. But it was impossible for photographer Jean-Marie Périer, who shared the life of the much missed artist, to miss the event.
The one who became friends with Jacques Dutronc even though he was left for him spoke at the end of the funeral to journalists from Paris Match. The one who had lent three of his photos of Françoise Hardy for the final farewell was certainly sad but nevertheless relieved: “All I can say is that I’m happy for her. I am very sad for Thomas and Jacques but I am happy for her, because what she put herself through for 10 years was an ordeal…“Words which may surprise but which are linked to the ordeals Françoise Hardy went through in recent years and Jean-Marie Périer knew them. This is why the professional photographer speaks of a deliverance for the one he loved. .
Ten years of fighting against the disease
Life has not spared Françoise Hardy. If the latter suffered in love, notably because of Jacques Dutronc’s infidelities, health has also played tricks on her, particularly in recent years. Treated by aggressive treatments to eradicate the cancer, Françoise Hardy suffered the serious consequences of these protocols which left her no respite.
Last February, she spoke to journalists from Le Figaro and the news was not good: “My state of health and exhaustion, which has worsened significantly since the last radiotherapy treatments at the end of 2023, is unbearable” she indicated. Françoise Hardy was one of the fervent representatives of people supporting the right to die with dignity and had even sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron to alert him to the situation of patients who have no chance of getting better. The debate on euthanasia in France is still ongoing.
