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The legendary Riviera town of Saint-Tropez is getting ready for the quiet farewell to cinema legend Brigitte Bardot. The actress and singer’s funeral will take place this Wednesday (January 7th) in the church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption – deliberately low key, without any celebrity circus. The authorities did not authorize a burial on their illustrious estate “La Madrague”.
There should be no cameras, no speeches or even a staged show. The guest list is also largely top secret. Only right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen announced her arrival days ago.
Bardot had sympathized with the Rassemblement National, formerly the Front National, throughout her later years. The incumbent President Macron and his wife Brigitte are not visible.
Paris is holding back
Observers from Paris say that the “BB topic” is largely being ignored in newspapers and magazines on kiosks in the capital. The ceremony itself remains exclusive and hand-picked; all those invited were asked not to make their presence public, according to Le Parisien magazine. “Not a variety show,” is the clear message from the Fondation Brigitte Bardot.
Route through Saint Tropez
Local media are reporting details of the funeral of the icon of 1950s and 1960s cinema, who died on December 28, 2025 at the age of 91. The city administration said it is providing support in close collaboration with state authorities, Ms. Bardot’s family and the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, “with full respect for the privacy, memory and wishes of her relatives.”
The funeral procession is scheduled to start around 10 a.m. and move through the streets, giving the public the opportunity to pay their last respects to Madame Bardot. The planned route goes via the Bouillabaisse roundabout towards Place des Lices, then along Rue Sibilli and the harbor quays. “The public is invited to follow this moment along the route with respectful reverence,” said a statement from Saint-Tropez.
Family and close friends
Bardot’s son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, who has lived in Norway for decades, is expected along with his daughters and grandchildren. Her appearance is likely to be particularly emotional – also because the relationship between mother and son was long considered difficult, but has recently become closer again.
Word from the French music scene is that Chico from the Gipsy Kings will be there. In the 80s, he and his band had a close friendship with Bardot – she promoted the band at legendary parties on the Côte Saint-Tropez and is even said to have “jammed” with them incognito. Animal and environmental activists who have shaped Bardot’s second career will also be there.
These include Allain Bougrain-Dubourg and Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd founder and long-time comrade-in-arms, who accompanied them to the ice floes to see the seals in the 1970s. A quiet farewell is to be expected for a woman who combined pop, film, protest and provocation like no other. Saint-Tropez quietly says goodbye to perhaps the greatest icon of French cool.