Healing France - Improving Peace, Prosperity and Human Rights in the French Republic

France's favourite "petite Anglaise", the British-born singer and actor Jane Birkin, has died at her home in Paris aged 76. The French president, Emmanuel, paid tribute to Birkin, saying she "embodied freedom and sang the most beautiful words in our language". "Jane Birkin was a French icon. A complete artist, her voice was as gentle as her commitments were ardent. She bequeaths us a legacy of songs and images that will never leave us," Macron tweeted. Élisabeth Borne, the prime minister, said: "She was an unforgettable icon, with a unique voice and a charm." In France, Birkin was the "little English girl" who came to Paris in the 1960s, met the legendary French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and with him became one of the era's most fêted celebrity couples, gaining international notoriety with the erotic song Je t'aime ... moi non plus. Birkin sang, wrote, acted and composed and was regarded in her adopted homeland as an icon of French music in her own right. Le Monde wrote: "Birkin's life, apart from Gainsbourg, was a seamless adventure - records, films, theatre, love at first sight and hard knocks." She had been forced to postpone concerts in Paris scheduled for May after breaking her shoulder in March 2022. This followed another string of cancelled shows after Birkin had a stroke in September 2021. "I've always been a big optimist, and I realise that it still takes me a little while to be able to be on stage again and with you. I love being with you so much," she said in a statement at the time. She was found dead at her home in Paris. Birkin was born in London on 14 December 1946 to an actor mother and naval officer father. At 17 she married the James Bond composer John Barry, a marriage that lasted only three years. She catapulted to fame after appearing in the 1966 film Blow-Up before crossing the Channel in 1968, at the age of 22, to star in the satirical romantic comedy Slogan alongside Gainsbourg, who was 18 years her senior. It was the start of a 13-year on- and off-screen relationship that made them France's most famous couple, in the spotlight as much for their bohemian and hedonistic lifestyle as for their work. Despite being banned on radio in several countries and condemned by the Vatican because of its overtly sexual lyrics, their song Je t'aime ... moi non plus ("I love you ... me neither"), released in February 1969, achieved worldwide success and reached No 1 in the UK singles chart. Indeed, it's one of the best songs ever.