President Macron Leads Tributes to French Icon Jane Birkin

French President Emmanuel Macron has led tributes to 'French icon' Jane Birkin after the singer, actress, and fashion icon died at the age of 76.

The English-French singer and actress died at her home in Paris following a long battle with cancer and was found by a 'caregiver' this morning, according to a family friend.

Fans have left floral tributes outside the home of the cult film star in the French capital as the city mourns Jane's tragic loss before morticians were pictured taking her body away.

Macron led the tributes for the "Blow-Up actress" on Sunday, posting to Twitter: "Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon.

"A complete artist, her voice was as sweet as her engagements were fiery.

"She bequeaths us tunes and images that will never leave us,".

Rima Abdul Malak, France's Minister of Culture, also paid tribute, tweeting "The most French of Britons is gone,".

She continued: "Jane B was mischief, impertinent elegance, the never-outdated emblem of an entire era, a murmuring voice that remains our idol,".

"A woman of heart, committed, whose disappearance leaves us 'Alone In Babylone'," referencing one of Birkin's songs.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the British ambassador to France Menna Rawlings described Birkin respectively as "The most Parisian of the English" and "The most French of British artists."

France's Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on Sunday said that Birkin was an "unforgettable icon", with “a unique voice and charm”.

"Through her music and her talent, she transcended generations. Thank you for the emotions touched and this legacy that will live forever," Borne tweeted.

The French culture ministry hailed the actress and singer as a “timeless Francophone icon”. 

Hailing the artist as "Eternal in our hearts", actor and activist Brigitte Bardot said, "When someone is so pretty, so fresh, so spontaneous, with the voice of a child, they don't have the right to die".

"Unimaginable to live in a world without your light in it," French singer Étienne Daho, one of Birkin's close friends, wrote on Instagram.

From the world of fashion, Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing said the french icon's death was the passing of an "icon" whose bohemian-chic style inspired many. Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus shared a photo of Birkin in tribute.

In 1984, Hermès named one of its handbags after Birkin, which is popular around the world, after she complained to a former chief executive that she could not find a leather bag that could fit all she needed as a young mother.

The luxury brand in a statement hailed Birkin as "a dear and intimate friend" who was endowed with a "great humanity".

Birkin's health hit headlines back in 2002 when she was diagnosed with Leukaemia, which she had described as a 'not very painful cancer' - but in May she canceled a series of concerts when it got worse.

She said at the time: "I have always been a great optimist, and I realise that I still need a little time to be able again on stage and with you".

The English-French star also suffered a stroke in 2021 and was forced to cancel several concerts that year. She canceled shows again last March after breaking her shoulder blade.

She was known for her personal and artistic relationship with songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, recording the iconic track "Je T'aime...moi non plus" with him.

She was born in London but found fame singing in French, relocating there in the 1970s. Her relationship with Gainsbourg made her internationally famous following their hit song "Je t'aime... moi non plus", which he originally wrote for former girlfriend Brigitte Bardot.

The duet was recorded in 1968, months after they met on the set of the film Slogan. It was banned on radio in several countries and condemned by the Vatican because of its overtly sexual lyrics but introduced the pair to a new international audience.

Birkin and Gainsbourg were together for 12 years but remained friends after their split, with Gainsbourg - who was 18 years older than Birkin - still writing songs for her years later.

The couple had a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is an award-winning actress and singer. Their relationship has been frequently described as "tumultuous", and Birkin wrote about violence between the two in her 2020 diaries, as well as the challenges of Gainsbourg's alcoholism.

She frequently defended the man she became so closely associated with - including against charges by one singer that he was a "harasser" in an interview in the Times in 2020 - and continued to promote his work long after his death in 1991.

Asked by the same newspaper about their lifestyle last year, she said: "I don't know how easy it was for the children to have a mother who was naked in magazines and a father burning 500 franc notes. I hope one did some things right."

The pair split in 1981 and Birkin continued her acting and singing career, releasing albums including Baby Alone in Babylone in 1983 and Amour des Feintes in 1990.

She was also a model and came to be widely seen as a fashion trendsetter, inspiring the Birkin handbag, a style put into production by the luxury French brand Hermès in 1984.

In a chance encounter on an Air France flight, Birkin happened to be sitting next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the then-CEO of Hermès, when she spilled the contents of her bag.

While bemoaning the lack of large bags on the market, especially for mothers, Dumas "immediately sketched a supple and spacious rectangular holdall with a burnished flap and saddle stitching", according to the Hermès website.

And thus, Birkin was born. One of the most exclusive bags, some styles cost many tens of thousands of dollars and have waiting lists of months, if not years.

The style became a fashion hit and has spawned several imitations - but in 2006, Birkin told the Guardian: "I love it, but I lug so much stuff around in it that I believe it is part of the reason I have tendonitis."

Birkin campaigned for numerous causes throughout her life - including asking Hermès to drop her name from its product in 2015 over animal welfare concerns.

Prior to moving to France and meeting Gainsbourg, Birkin was married to the British composer John Barry until the late 1960s.

Their daughter, Kate Barry, was a fashion photographer who worked for Vogue and died in 2013 at the age of 46.

Birkin has a third daughter - the musician, model and actress Lou Doillon - from her 1980s relationship with French film director Jacques Doillon.

Her acting credits included films such as the 1966 classic "Blow Up", "Death on the Nile" (1978), and "Evil Under the Sun" (1982). She released a self-penned album in 2002 called "Arabesque" and a collection of live recordings in 2009 under the title "Jane at the Palace".

Birkin was treated for leukemia in the late 1990s and it was reported in September 2021 that she had suffered a stroke, forcing her to cancel a planned appearance at an American film festival.