Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, as well as Nicolas Sarkozy, attended on Friday in Paris the funeral of the editorial director of Paris Match Olivier Royant, emblematic figure of the magazine.

Shortly after 3:00 p.m., the procession accompanying the coffin arrived at the Sainte-Clotilde church, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, where some 300 people were gathered for a funeral mass, noted an AFP journalist.

Among the personalities were, in addition to the Head of State, his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy accompanied by his wife Carla, as well as the former Prime Minister Alain Juppé, the writer Bernard-Henri Levy and the photographer Pascal Rostaing.

Olivier Royant died overnight from Wednesday to Thursday at the age of 58.

The Elysée then paid a vibrant tribute to a "witness of his time, eye of the world".

Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Paris Match has remained a centerpiece of Emmanuel Macron's communication system, for his private life as well as his public action.

Olivier Royant, who became close to the couple, regularly accompanied the Head of State on his travels, in the presidential plane.

On April 14, 2016, it was in Paris Match that Brigitte Macron had confided for the first time, when her husband, Minister of the Economy, had just launched En marche!

The magazine had posted it in the front page.

In August of the same year, the weekly was the first to devote its front page to the couple, with photos showing them both in swimsuits, when the young ex-minister launched himself in the presidential race.

A choice recommended by Mimi Marchand, "queen of the paparazzi", whose photo agency Bestimage reigns over the celebrity press and provides her photos to Paris Match.

Paris Match remains the privileged channel of the Macron for illustrated reports on their daily life but also for political confidences.

Last July, the magazine told the story behind a crucial European Council that the President had decided to entrust to the magazine.

On August 20, Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron were on the front page, lending themselves to a glamorous report on their stay at Fort Brégançon.

© 2021 AFP