French director Jean-Luc Godard died by assisted suicide: lawyer

Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century and the father of the French New Wave, died by assisted suicide, his legal counsel, says.

His family earlier said he died “peacefully at home” aged 91.

Godard’s legal counsel Patrick Jeanneret confirms a report in French daily Liberation that he had resorted to assisted suicide.

The practice is regulated in Switzerland and permitted if offered without a selfish motive to a person with decision-making capacity to end their own suffering.

“Godard had recourse to legal assistance in Switzerland for a voluntary departure as he was stricken with ‘multiple invalidating illnesses,’ according to the medical report,” said Jeanneret.

Godard had lived as a virtual recluse for decades in the Swiss village of Rolle.