Comment te Dire Adieu: Farewell to French cultural icon Françoise Hardy
Recently, France farewelled one of its favourite cultural figures, Françoise Hardy, who passed away at the age of 80. The shy, stylish Parisian pop singer and fashion icon first rose to fame in the 1960s with her chart-topping singles including “Tous les Garçons et les Filles” and “Le Temps de l’Amour”. No mere pop prop, Hardy also wrote almost all of her own songs. She also starred in films, most notably Grand Prix and Une Balle au Cœur, as well as writing several books on astrology and nonfiction works.
Hardy’s personal style was the prototype Parisienne, with a chic, elegant and effortless feel that inevitably drew comparisons with her contemporary, Jane Birkin. Hardy’s signatures included flared jeans, leather jackets, trench coats, white sunglasses and a French girl fringe. She was a muse for designers Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne and collaborated with various fashion houses.
She married singer and actor Jacques Dutronc in 1981 and had a son, Thomas, today a prominent musician. While Hardy and Dutronc separated in 1988, they remained good friends.
Hardy endured various bouts with cancer over the last 20 years of her life. She had been an advocate for euthanasia, stating that France was inhumane for not allowing the procedure.
She was farewelled in Paris last week at the Cimetière du Père Lachaise. Arguably Paris’ most famous cemetery, it is the resting place of Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Maria Callas, among its many notable names. Among the guests farewelling Hardy were French first lady Brigitte Macron and former French president Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.