Franco-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, was euthanized in Switzerland, according to several close associates quoted by the French and Swiss press.
Born in Paris to a family of Swiss origin, Godard, one of the figures of the Nouvelle Vague, lived during various phases of his life in that country neighboring France, of which he also had nationality, and where euthanasia is legal.
"He was not sick, he was simply exhausted. He had made the decision to finish. It was his decision and for him it was important that it be known," said a close friend of the Libération newspaper, the first to announce the death.
A statement from his wife, Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville, and the filmmaker's producers said Godard "died peacefully at home, surrounded by those closest to him."
The death occurred at his home in Rolle, on the shores of Lake Leman (Switzerland) and a few kilometers from France.
The family added that there will be no official ceremonies and that Godard's remains will be cremated in privacy.
Another person close to Godard told the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve that the filmmaker "could not lead a normal life due to various pathologies."
Euthanasia would have been carried out by a specialized Swiss organization. In that country there are two, Exit and Dignitas, that offer this help legally under a series of legal conditions, such as the existence of serious or age-related pathologies, and that they have no selfish motives in these actions.
Several relatives told the French and Swiss media that the family wanted to have waited 48 hours before disclosing the death, which was finally leaked to the French newspaper Libération.
In an interview with Swiss television in 2014, and asked about the hypothesis of death, Godard replied: "I'm not anxious to follow everything, if I'm too sick I don't want to be dragged in a wheelbarrow."
Unlike in other European countries, euthanasia is still not legalized in France, although the government of President Emmanuel Macron has launched a political and social debate that could lead to the authorization of this practice.
