Crowds gather in the streets of Saint-Tropez for Brigitte Bardot’s funeral

Crowds gathered in the streets of Saint-Tropez on Wednesday for the funeral of French film legend Brigitte Bardot.

Some of those gathered applauded as her coffin was carried through the French Riviera town after a ceremony at a local church.

Guests at the ceremony included far-right politician Marine Le Pen and Equality Minister Aurore Bergé, who like Bardot are defenders of animal rights. The actress was later buried in a hillside cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Bardot, who revolutionized French cinema in the 1950s and became a symbol of sexual liberation, died of cancer three days after Christmas at the age of 91.

Bardot had left instructions for her funeral to be without fanfare or show, but the people of Saint-Tropez want to bid her a formal farewell on Wednesday.

The screen is set in a small fishing town that, thanks to Bardot’s fame, has become a playground for jet-setters.

Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, Bardot’s only son, was among those who carried the coffin to the cemetery where the actress’ parents and first husband Roger Vadim are buried.

Following her death, French President Emmanuel Macron said the country was mourning a “legend of this century”, while the Brigitte Bardot Foundation remembered her as a “world-renowned actress”.

The film icon – known as “BB” in her native country – appeared in nearly 50 films, including “And God Created Woman,” but retired in 1973 to devote her life to animal welfare.

In his later years, Bardot suffered reputational damage for making homophobic slurs and was fined several times for inciting racial hatred.

Her right-wing views alienated her from many in the political establishment.