Fans and Family Bid Tearful Farewell to ‘French Icon’ Jane Birkin 

Jane Birkin's daughters French-British actress Lou Doillon (R) and French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (L) arrive to attend the funeral ceremony for late British-French singer and actress Jane Birkin at the Saint-Roch church in Paris on July 24, 2023. (AFP)
Jane Birkin's daughters French-British actress Lou Doillon (R) and French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (L) arrive to attend the funeral ceremony for late British-French singer and actress Jane Birkin at the Saint-Roch church in Paris on July 24, 2023. (AFP)
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Fans and Family Bid Tearful Farewell to ‘French Icon’ Jane Birkin 

Jane Birkin's daughters French-British actress Lou Doillon (R) and French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (L) arrive to attend the funeral ceremony for late British-French singer and actress Jane Birkin at the Saint-Roch church in Paris on July 24, 2023. (AFP)
Jane Birkin's daughters French-British actress Lou Doillon (R) and French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (L) arrive to attend the funeral ceremony for late British-French singer and actress Jane Birkin at the Saint-Roch church in Paris on July 24, 2023. (AFP)

Hundreds of fans joined film legends and family members to bid farewell to British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin at her funeral in Paris on Monday.

Film star Catherine Deneuve, singer Vanessa Paradis and first Lady Brigitte Macron were among the mourners in the Saint-Roch church.

Outside, tearful fans waving banners marked with "Jane Forever" and "Thank you Jane Birkin" watched the ceremony on a giant screen on the corner of Rue des Pyramides and Rue Saint-Honore.

Birkin's songs, including "La Javanaise", played through speakers across the French capital's first arrondissement.

"I already feel the vacuum she is leaving. This is my mother, our mother," Birkin's daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, told mourners in the church.

"Mother, thank you for not being ordinary and reasonable," her other daughter, the actress and singer Lou Doillon, said during the ceremony.

Other mourners included singers Alain Souchon, Etienne Daho, who composed her last album, and Matthieu Chedid.

President Emmanuel Macron declared Birkin "a French icon" after she her death was announced on July 16 at the age of 76.

Overseas, she was best known overseas for her sensual 1969 hit “Je t’aime ... moi non plus”, performed with Serge Gainsbourg.

In France, where she had lived since the late 1960s, she became a well-known and much-loved figure for her songs, roles in dozens of films and the stance she took on a range of issues including women's rights.



Nintendo Showcases ‘Super Mario’, Game Boy History in New Museum

Characters Mario and Luigi are seen at the grand opening of the Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, US, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
Characters Mario and Luigi are seen at the grand opening of the Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, US, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Nintendo Showcases ‘Super Mario’, Game Boy History in New Museum

Characters Mario and Luigi are seen at the grand opening of the Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, US, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
Characters Mario and Luigi are seen at the grand opening of the Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, US, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Japanese firm Nintendo will next week open a museum showcasing its history, where fans of "Super Mario", "The Legend of Zelda" and the Game Boy and Switch can gain insight into one of the world's most renowned game makers.

Located in Uji near the company's Kyoto headquarters, the museum underscores the many evolutions of Nintendo, which was founded in 1889 as a maker of "hanafuda" playing cards and is now a global gaming giant.

Shigeru Miyamoto, executive fellow at Nintendo and creator of "Super Mario", said the museum was intended to deepen understanding of the company.

"If making products while protecting concepts such as family, fun and ease of understanding is rooted in our employees then the new Nintendo will continue to grow," he told reporters.

The museum, which opens to the public Oct. 2, is located on the site of a plant that used to make playing cards and was a center for product repairs. Tickets on its website are sold out for the following two months.

In addition to displaying iconic devices such as the Wii console and the handheld Game Boy, visitors will be able to see lesser known products such as the "Mamaberica" baby stroller and the "Copilas" printer.

The museum also offers a range of interactive experiences, with visitors able to partner to play the video game "Super Mario Bros." featuring mustachioed plumber Mario on a single, oversized Family Computer controller.

While a push into mobile gaming has tapered off, other efforts by Nintendo to expand beyond its core gaming business have gained traction with the company opening stores and employing its roster of characters in theme parks and film.

The Switch console has been a runaway success with an install base exceeding 140 million units, but with sales slowing, investor attention in now focused on the prospects for a successor device, with Nintendo due to reveal details in the current financial year, which ends in March.