The farewell ceremonies for actor Michel Côté will take place as follows: the public will be able to come and greet him during a burning chapel at the Monument-National, while on the day of his funeral, Quebec will lower the flag of Parliament, “a strong symbol of national mourning”.
In a press release on Thursday, Michel Côté’s family invited the general public to pay their last respects to him in the state of the chapel, on June 8, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
One of Michel Côté’s two sons, Maxime Le Flaguais, will address the media in the morning. He will be the sole spokesperson for the family, who earlier this week expressed their desire to withdraw from public space during this ordeal.
Quebec ruled out Thursday the idea of holding a state funeral for Michel Côté after having made “verifications with the protocol teams at the Quebec government”. Prime Minister François Legault will, however, table a motion next week in the National Assembly and award him the title of Knight of the National Order of Quebec posthumously, on June 21. “We will also place the Quebec flag on the central tower of Parliament at half mast on the day of the funeral, a strong symbol of national mourning,” said Ewan Sauve, press secretary to the Premier of Quebec, by email.
A favorite actor of Quebecers, versatile and deeply human, Michel Côté has starred in some forty films and TV series, including Cruising Bar, C. R. A. Z. Y., De père en cop, Omertà and La petite vie. In the theater, he distinguished himself for 38 years in the play Broue alongside Marc Messier and Marcel Gauthier. He passed away on Monday from a bone marrow disease. He was 72 years old.
The Monument-National is located at 1182, boulevard Saint-Laurent, in Montreal.