French bid last farewell to Hallyday

France paidan emotional farewell yesterday to Johnny Hallyday – the singer whotaught the country how to rock – in a highly theatrical “people’stribute” that brought Paris to a standstill.Hundreds of thousands ofpeople lined the Champs Elysees to watch his white coffin, escorted bysome 700 bikers, descend the great ceremonial avenue in what was a statefuneral in all but name.Diehard fans of the leather-clad “FrenchElvis” began to gather overnight in the centre of the French capital foran outpouring of emotion for a singer not seen since the death of EdithPiaf.As the huge cortege paused in front of the grand Madeleinechurch where French President Emmanuel Macron waited on the steps withthe singer’s family, the throng – many in tears – began chanting overand over, “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny Hallyday”.“Because he lovedFrance, he would have loved this,” Macron declared as the coffin waslaid on the steps of the church before the crowd.“He was part of us,part of France ... its prodigal son who suffered terribly, furiously onstage for us. We had to be here for Johnny because he was there forus,” he added.“Johnny was ours ... He was a lot more than a singer, he was life,” the president said.Hallyday,once condemned as the rock ‘n’ roll “corrupter of youth” who went on tobecome a very French cultural icon, died of lung cancer on Wednesday.Withan untipped Gitanes cigarette often at his lip, he held Franceentranced for five decades with his spectacular stage shows and equallycolourful private life, reinventing himself for each generation.Ahuge portrait of the singer hung from the facade of the grand Madeleinechurch, with fans – many of whom spent the night in the surroundingstreets – singing his songs and doing the twist to keep warm on a brightbut freezing cold morning.Television stations cleared theirschedules to broadcast the “people’s tribute” live, ensuring that the“beast of the stage”, who sold more than 110mn records, went out withone last big show.Hollywood star Marion Cotillard wept as tributeswere paid by a galaxy of French stars, including his friends Jean Renoand Carole Bouquet, to a man who was abandoned as a child and spent alifetime battling his demons and addictions.But the four hours ofceremonial ended almost joyously with mourners inside and outside theMadeleine, which hosted Chopin’s funeral in 1849, clapping along toblues and gospel musicians who followed the coffin out of the church.Inone final grand gesture, Hallyday’s beloved Harley Davidson motorcyclewas left riderless on the cobblestones outside like a fallen cavalryofficer’s horse.That the French government had to invent a new typeof ceremony to honour the singer, who was almost unknown outside theFrench-speaking world, speaks volumes about his pop cultural cachet.“Hewas someone who really counted in French people’s lives,” said formerpresident Nicolas Sarkozy, a huge fan who officiated at the singer’sfifth wedding and tried to lure him back from tax exile. “For manypeople Johnny represents the idea of happiness.”But for some inHallyday’s white working-class fan base, the fact that he will be buriedin the French Caribbean island of Saint Barts – where he had a home –added to the heartache.Veteran French pop star Michel Polnareff, anold friend of the star, said on Friday that he found it “strange thathis fans should be deprived of Johnny” in this way.Others found ithard to swallow that an idol who was adored for his “ordinariness andsimplicity” should be laid to rest in a millionaires’ hideaway.His body will be flown to the island today and buried tomorrow.Onefan, Francois Le Lay, told AFP that “we would have preferred if he wasburied in Paris, but if Johnny wanted that, we will respect it”.“Mywife and I will put the money aside that we would have spent going tohis concerts so we can fly to Saint Barts one day,” he said.While not all French people were taken by his often derivative American-rooted rock, his mark on national life was undeniable.Philosopher Raphael Enthoven said it was difficult to overplay the effect of Hallyday’s passing.“Peoplesay they can’t believe he is dead because their belief in him willnever die,” he told French radio. “Many people never believed that Elvisdied. It’s the same for Johnny.”