France to mourn rock star Hallyday with exceptional pomp

The words “Thank you Johnny” in French is displayed on the Eiffel Tower referring to late French rock star Johnny Hallyday in Paris. (AP)

PARIS: France is bidding farewell to its biggest rock star, honoring Johnny Hallyday with an exceptional funeral procession down the Champs-Elysees, a presidential speech and a parade of motorcyclists — all under intense security.
Few figures in French history have earned such an elaborate send-off. It was ordered by President Emmanuel Macron, a Hallyday fan himself.
Hallyday’s death Wednesday at age 74 after fighting lung cancer unleashed emotion across the country, where the man sometimes dubbed the French Elvis had been an icon for more than half a century.
Paris police expect hundreds of thousands of fans as the procession moves from his home in a Paris suburb to Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe monument and down the Champs-Elysees.
Macron is expected to speak at the funeral ceremony at Madeleine Church.