Paris —  French politicians were divided on Monday over how to pay tribute to the late Brigitte Bardot who, despite her screen legend, courted controversy — and convictions — in later life with her far-right views.

The film star died on Sunday at the age of 91 at home in the south of France. Media around the globe splashed iconic images of her and tributes following the announcement.

Bardot shot to fame in the 1956 film “And God Created Woman” and went on to appear in about 50 films, but turned her back on cinema in 1973 to throw herself into fighting for animal rights.

But her links to the far-right stirred controversy.

Bardot was convicted five times for hate speech, mostly about Muslims but also about the inhabitants of the French island of Reunion, whom she described as “savages.”

She died before dawn on Sunday morning with her fourth husband, Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to the far right, by her side.

“She whispered a word of love to him … and she was gone,” Bruno Jacquelin, a representative of her foundation for animals, told BFM television.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed her as a “legend” of 20th century cinema who “embodied a life of freedom.”

Right-wing politicians laud Bardot

Far-right figures were among the first to mourn her.

Marine le Pen, whose National Rally party is riding high in polls, called her “incredibly French: free, untameable, whole.”

Bardot backed Le Pen for president in 2012 and 2017 and described her as a modern “Joan of Arc” she hoped could “save” France.

Conservative politician Eric Ciotti suggested a national farewell like the one organized for French rock legend Johnny Hallyday.

He launched an online petition that had garnered just over 7,000 signatures Monday.

Left-wing politicians temper praise and some are sharply critical

But few left-wing politicians have spoken about Bardot’s passing.

“Brigitte Bardot was a towering figure, a symbol of freedom, rebellion, and passion,” Philippe Brun, a senior Socialist party deputy, told Europe 1 radio.

“We are sad she is gone,” he said, adding he did not oppose a national homage.

But he did hint at her controversial political views.

“As for her political commitments, there will be time enough — in the coming days and weeks — to talk about them,” he said.

Communist party leader Fabien Roussel called Bardot a divisive figure.

But “we all agree French cinema created BB and that she made it shine throughout the world,” he wrote on X.

Lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau, of the left-leaning Greens Party, was more critical.

“To be moved by the fate of dolphins but remain indifferent to the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean — what level of cynicism is that?” she quipped on BlueSky.

Bardot’s remarks on her funeral raised some eyebrows  

Bardot said she wanted to be buried in her garden with a simple wooden cross above her grave — just like for her animals — and wanted to avoid “a crowd of idiots” at her funeral.

Such a burial is possible in France if local authorities grant permission.

Born on Sept. 28, 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off traditional Catholic household.

Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier.

After quitting the cinema, Bardot withdrew to her home in Saint-Tropez to devote herself to animal rights.

Her calling apparently came when she encountered a goat on the set of her final film, “The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot.” To save it from being killed, she bought the animal and kept it in her hotel room.

“I’m very proud of the first chapter of my life,” she told AFP in a 2024 interview ahead of her 90th birthday.

“It gave me fame, and that fame allows me to protect animals — the only cause that truly matters to me.”

Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of March parliamentary elections in Nepal that will challenge the older parties, which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for over three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.

Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday, party officials said.

They said under the agreement with RSP, 35-year-old Balen will become the prime minister if the RSP wins the March 5 elections, while Lamichhane will remain the party chief.

Both have vowed to address the demands raised during the “Gen Z” or youth-led protests against widespread corruption in September, in which 77 people were killed and leading to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s resignation.

“It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring in Balen and his young supporters into its fold,” analyst Bipin Adhikari said.

“Traditional political parties are in pain for fear of losing their young voters to RSP,” he said.

The election commission says nearly 19 million of Nepal’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the elections. Nearly one million voters – mostly youths – were added after the protests.

Balen was in the spotlight after the protests and was an undeclared leader of the youngsters who led the September protests.

He also helped form the interim government of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to oversee the vote.

Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the centrist Nepali Congress party have shared power between them for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen.

Search titan Google has reportedly retreated its recently introduced portrait-related setting for the Pixel phones’ Phone app, meant to enhance user control over portrait effects during phone calls.

Initially designed exclusively for the Google Phone app on Pixel devices, this feature was part of Google’s efforts to improve user experience through software updates rather than hardware changes.

The feature was slated to gradually roll out via a server-side update for Pixel phones equipped with advanced computational photography and AI-driven camera capabilities. By extending portrait effects from photography and video into calling features, Google aimed to enhance visual clarity during communication.

With the new portrait setting, users could have managed portrait behaviour more effectively during calls, being able to activate or deactivate portrait processing instead of relying solely on automatic settings.

This functionality was particularly beneficial for those who frequently switched between voice and video calls, ensuring consistency and reducing unexpected visual effects.

Regardless, the rollback means that Pixel users will no longer have access to this feature, which was aligned with Google’s goal of enhancing the Phone app through AI-powered tools like Call Screen and improved spam detection.

As video calls have become more common than ever, the ability to control camera behaviour during calls is essential, but unfortunately, Google appears to have reconsidered its approach.

The decision to retract the feature reflects ongoing adjustments to Google’s strategy, as the company evaluates user feedback and the overall impact of such functionalities in the competitive landscape of communication technology.