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Hallyday to be buried on Caribbean island
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People gather during a 'popular homage' to late French singer Johnny Hallyday as his coffin is driven down the Champs-Elysees avenue on Dec. 9, 2017 in Paris, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. French music icon Johnny Hallyday died on Dec. 6, 2017 aged 74 after a battle with lung cancer, plunging the country into mourning for a national treasure whose soft rock lit up the lives of three generations. (Agence France -Presse/Patrick Kovarik)
T
he family of late French rocker Johnny Hallyday prepared Sunday to bury him on the Caribbean island of St Barts, a millionaire's paradise where the singer had a holiday home.
The 72-year-old, who died on Wednesday of lung cancer, had asked to be laid to rest there in a choice that has disappointed some fans who would have preferred his grave to be more accessible on the mainland.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Paris on Saturday to watch his white coffin, escorted by some 700 bikers, travel down the Champs Elysees in what was a state funeral in all but name.
The coffin left Paris on Sunday morning on a Boeing 757 with 62 passengers onboard, including his wife Laeticia and their two children who will lead a private burial ceremony on Monday.
Around a dozen fans were at the airport as the plane took off.
"I wanted to be with him right to the end because he always gave everything," 54-year-old veteran fan Fred Bouton told AFP.
Bouton said he had already started looking up air tickets for the eight-hour trip to St Barts which are often in excess of 1,000 euros ($1,200).
