Rocker Hallyday's first wife 'heartbroken'

French rock icon Johnny Hallyday will be laid to rest in the CaribbeanMonday as his first wife and many fans bemoaned that he was being buried so far from mainland France.
Hundreds of thousands of people thronged the centre of Paris on Saturday for his funeral, with at least 12 million people watching the grand ceremonial of the "people's tribute" to the star live on television.

France has not seen such an outpouring of emotion for a singer since the death of Edith Piaf.

But hours before the burial in a seaside cemetery on the French Caribbean island of St Barts, Hallyday's first wife Sylvie Vartan said she was heartbroken he was being buried there.

"It is with a broken heart that I must accept the idea that Johnny will be buried today," the 1960s pop star said in a statement to AFP.

"It is very sad that Johnny will be so long from all of us who loved him so much," she added.

Many of Hallyday's mainly working class fans who lined the streets of Paris Saturday were also upset that the singer would be so far away.

Veteran pop star Michel Polnareff, an old friend of the man they called the French Elvis, had earlier said he found it "strange that his fans should be deprived of Johnny" in this way.

Source:AFP