It’s clear that Alain Delon’s death has aroused intense emotion. It is commensurate not only with the scale of the actor’s talent, charisma and grace, but also with the general feeling that an era is finally coming to an end with him, relegating to history the status of “cinema star.” Certainly in the sense that Edgar Morin defined it: “The stories of stars renew in their own measure the stories of the gods.” The shift is obvious from abroad, and even more so in France, where his passing affects the country’s image and projection of itself. It is evident not only in the words employed but also in the scope of the mourning.
In this regard, politicians, who know best what is at stake in national representation along with actors and actresses, always respond to the call. President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X: “Melancholy, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: he was a French monument.” The official Elysée press release added: “Irregular, free-spirited, timeless, a lifelong Frenchman.” One of his predecessors at the Elysée, Nicolas Sarkozy, felt that Delon “was the most French of all our actors, and at the same time the most international.” The resigning prime minister, Gabriel Attal, focused on the word star: “Movie star. Popular star. Viscerally French star.”
Alongside them – in this exaltation of a man embodying “Frenchness” – are many other voices. Bruno Retailleau, the leader of the right-wing senators: “Alain Delon loved France and the French loved Alain Delon.” From Rachida Dati, resigning culture minister: “He leaves France orphaned of its finest incarnation.” From Eric Ciotti, the conservative leader who joined forces with Marine Le Pen: “He will remain forever in the eyes of the world the French Man with a capital M. (…) A sincere patriot and a man of the right, Delon always defended a certain idea of France.” Le Pen herself: “It’s a small part of the France we love that leaves with him.” And her far-right rival Eric Zemmour: “He was the embodiment of French elegance, French style, and French cinema.”
‘A great friend of animals’
In a country so divided, do we have to yearn for an idea of France to harp on it so much? In doing so, it’s clear that the French right, across the whole spectrum, is in unison with mourning an entertainer who shared its vision. Bruno Le Maire, the outgoing finance minister, in this respect, marked a difference, expressing himself first and foremost as a grateful spectator: “There are samurai who are princes and actors embody an entire sun: thank you for this immense life of cinema.”
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