Not everything is yet clear about the funeral and the tributes that will be paid to the actor, who died on Sunday, August 18. According to information that leaked during the day of August 19, the burial could take place before the end of the week, in the chapel of the La Brulerie estate, as Alain Delon had wished.
A journey of more than six hours by car, from Bordeaux, to pay a final tribute to the man she considers “the best French actor of all time”. In front of the entrance to Alain Delon’s estate, La Brûlerie in Douchy, Isabelle is moved, but restrained. “I met him three times at the Cannes Film Festival and at other events related to cinema”, she says, in front of the gate filmed by all the TVs.
Ban on flying over Alain Delon’s estate in Douchy-Montcorbon, where he is due to be buried this week
Since then, the Bordeaux native, who looks like Mireille Darc with her golden hair, has tried to maintain a link with the star Delon. “I met his three children at several events. I always tried to snatch a dedication, a photo, a souvenir…”
On Monday, August 19, she proudly displayed a jumble of photos of the actor. In the middle of the photos, an image of Isabelle, posing alongside Alain Delon.
Delon wanted to be buried at home
Admirers of the actor also gathered in front of the gate of the La Brûlerie estate, as on Sunday. While most of them expressed their nostalgia, remembering Alain Delon’s cult moments, the emotion seemed contained. No tears, as if to mark a certain distance from the icon. One question came up in almost every exchange: under what conditions will the funeral take place?
The actor’s burial is being prepared in private. Little new information has leaked. Alain Delon wanted to be buried on his estate in Douchy-Montcorbon, with his dogs. “It’s the house of my life, where I want to end my days, where I want to die. I had a chapel built there and I will be buried there among my dogs,” he told La République du Centre in 2011. The Loiret prefecture confirmed that it had given its agreement in principle.
Death of Alain Delon: in Douchy and in front of the actor’s Loiret property, reactions between curiosity and emotion
“Alain Delon wanted to be buried on his property. Precautions had been taken for a long time in this regard. He had initiated the administrative procedures for this.” The prefecture had also indicated, on Sunday, that a hydrogeologist would have to be consulted. Regarding the agreement in principle, the latter indicated that “it could not issue an agreement in advance (before his death). It will now be necessary to verify this agreement and ensure, with the family, that Alain Delon did not leave any contradictory requests in his last will and testament.”
Midweek funerals
This seems the most likely hypothesis. The funeral should take place in the middle of the week, according to several media outlets present near the estate. Wednesday? Thursday? It remains to be seen whether a tribute will be organized in parallel with a burial which should take place in strict privacy.
On Monday, Abel Martin, mayor of Douchy-Montcorbon, stated that “a death notice should be filed at the town hall in the afternoon.” The mayor confirmed to AFP that it is possible to organize a ceremony in the church of Douchy “if that is the wish of the three children,” before adding: “It is a small church and it would be complicated to leave people outside.”
On a national scale, Alain Delon was formal: the actor did not want to hear about a national tribute, and had announced it in 2018. The arrival of Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture, had been considered as early as Sunday, according to indiscretions. Finally, the minister did not make the trip. In Douchy, on Monday, the gendarmerie continued to filter vehicle access, near the estate. Only the vehicle of the actor’s private security members was authorized to cross the barrier.
Alain Delon said he wanted to be buried in Douchy, with his dogs
On the other side of the gate, we could see a few silhouettes, sometimes coming to rearrange the numerous bouquets of flowers.
Nandy Werl is one of those anonymous people who came to pay homage to the “Samurai”
Nandy Werl is one of those anonymous people who came to pay tribute to the “Samurai”. He had the “joy” of acting alongside Alain Delon in the film Parole de flic, in 1985, he says. “It was very special because it’s a film in which cinema had to adapt to the circus, and vice versa”, assures the former ringmaster of the Pinder circuses, while taking out a few photographs taken during the actor’s 50th birthday, in 1985. “He was hard to live with, but in a good way. He was someone very demanding, certainly the most perfectionist I’ve met”, confesses Nandy Werl.
Japhet Blanpain