Jean-Michel Jarre's Efforts to Claim His Father's Inheritance

Jean-Michel Jarre, a pioneer of electronic music and the son of a prominent Hollywood composer, has initiated legal actions after being denied his father's inheritance. On Friday, he announced plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. According to AFP, French judicial authorities rejected Jean-Michel Jarre's request to annul his father Maurice's will, prompting him to seek recourse in the European Court of Human Rights. Jean-Michel Jarre, creator of the 1976 album 'Oxygène,' has sold over 80 million albums and singles worldwide. His father, Maurice Jarre, was a notable Hollywood composer known for soundtracks of films such as 'Doctor Zhivago' and 'Lawrence of Arabia.' In a statement published in Le Parisien on Friday, Jean-Michel Jarre wrote, 'My sister Stéphanie and I will take this case to the European Court of Human Rights due to the disregard for our family rights and excessive violation of our legal security.' Another prominent figure in French music, Johnny Hallyday, also excluded his children from his will, leading to a public dispute with his widow. In France, children have a legal right to inherit from their parents; however, Johnny Hallyday and his wife had moved to the U.S. years before his death and altered his will according to California laws. The Jarre family situation is similar. Maurice Jarre bequeathed all his assets to his wife through a 'family foundation,' which is entirely legal under California law. The French Supreme Court upheld his will in September 2017. The 69-year-old Jean-Michel Jarre stated, 'The right to inheritance is not just about money; it impacts more significant aspects like maintaining family bonds and, for artists, their moral rights.' He added, 'Preventing access to photos or personal items of a father or mother is truly horrifying.' He also mentioned receiving 'dozens' of requests to use his father's works but being unable to respond to them. AFP recalls that Jean-Michel Jarre has held some of the largest concerts in history over his four-decade career, including a concert in Paris in 1990 with 2.5 million attendees and a concert in Moscow in 1997 with 3.5 million participants. He was the first Western musician to perform in China after the Cultural Revolution and staged a music and light show in Houston in 1986 for NASA's space program celebration, which covered the entire city. Maurice Jarre passed away in 2009 after years of battling cancer in Los Angeles. He won his first Oscar in 1963 for 'Lawrence of Arabia' and a second Oscar three years later for 'Doctor Zhivago.'