Great emotion at the funeral of Marjane Satrapi

The steps of the Père Lachaise crematorium sparkle with the sparkling eyes of Marjane Satrapi, this Friday, June 19. For the funeral of the artist who left on June 4, two screens project a portrait highlighting the effervescence of an artist who enchanted readers with her autobiographical comic strip Persepolis.

Fans, feminist activists and personalities from comics and cinema, braved the heatwave to pay him a last tribute. To accompany loved ones, Catherine Deneuve accompanied by her daughter Chiara Mastroianni who participated in the film adaptation of Persepolis. Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani and Quebecer Charlotte Le Bon are also there.

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On the comics side, the great authors Blutch and Émile Bravo also wanted to pay tribute to the memory of their colleague and friend. Politics is not left out, notably with the presence of Valérie Pécresse.

When the hearse and procession appear, the applause of fans holding flowers and comic books rings out. Marjane Strapi’s mother wears a t-shirt with the image of her daughter and of Mattias Ripa, her son-in-law, who died of cancer in April 2025. A disappearance from which Marjane will not recover, dying of sadness at the age of 56. The emotion of the public is palpable.

The shadow of your loved one will hover throughout the ceremony. The first tribute from producer and director Denis Walgenwitz, a great friend of the couple, evokes through the reading of a text by Marjane Satrapi the first meeting between the two spouses. After listening to a song in Persian performed by the late artist, another very great friend will evoke the bitter fight that the woman led after the disappearance of her husband to stay alive. “ She was in so much pain, says upset Stéphane Roche, the editor of all Marjane Satrapi’s films. She didn’t go out anymore. She had tried everything but life had taken her Mattias.”

“She can do anything, nothing is impossible for her”

Another beautiful Iranian song imbued with melancholy punctuates the ceremony before Malin Ripa, Marjane’s sister-in-law, speaks. In tears, she remembers her brother’s words when he met the woman he called from the first moments the woman of his life: “She can do anything, nothing is impossible for her.”

Tajolmolook Satrapy, the author’s mother will greet the luminous and generous personality, “the exceptional soul” of his daughter whose “the name will remain alive” through all his works. In addition to comics, the artist’s talent was displayed in cinema and painting. “From childhood, she built her own world of imagination, love, colors, art…” Without forgetting to mention “deep and unconditional love” which she brought to her husband. “The love of Marjane and Mattias went far beyond words…”.

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Inside and outside the crematorium, the loud applause from the crowd reflects the emotion aroused by these words. But it is those of Marjane Satrapi who will finally seize the assembly. Those she said when she received the Princess of Asturias award for her role ” essential” In “the defense of human rights and freedom”, in 2024. She then offered her vision of humanity, capable of the worst as well as the best, steeped in humanism and lucidity.

The ceremony ends with a piece that the artist was fond of, Big Jet Plane by Angus and Julia Stone and a long ovation from an audience moved to tears. Without forgetting the vibrant tribute from the activists of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, with whom she coordinated, in 2023, a graphic novel of the same title, in support of the demonstrations in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini. Guardian of the temple, Marjane Satrapi will have imprinted the love of freedom and beauty in the hearts of Men. Père-Lachaise resonated, Friday June 19, with the gratitude of those who heard it…