France mourned the loss of a singular voice and a legend of French song on Wednesday, as the death of Francoise Hardy took one of the last icons of its 1960s heyday.

Hardy's death at 80, after a long battle with cancer, was announced by her son late on Tuesday, and commemorations poured in from across France.

Several newspaper headlines used the title of her 1968 hit "Comment te dire adieu" ("How to Say Goodbye").

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal praised a "singular voice with a fierce tranquility, Francoise Hardy rocked generations of French people for whom she will remain anchored in moments of their lives."

Electro pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre recalled "the elegance of her harmonious whispers that will resonate forever in the hearts of boys and girls of all ages".

That was a nod to another hit, "Tous les garcons et les filles" ("All the Boys and Girls"), which sold two million copies in 1962 when she had just turned 18 -- and which Hardy also composed herself, a rarity at the time.

Hardy found admirers around the world -- the only French artist in Rolling Stone's list of 200 greatest singers last year.

Mick Jagger called her his "ideal woman", Bob Dylan wrote a poem for her, and women around the world imitated her androgynous style and embraced her melancholic melodies.

US actor Elijah Wood was one of the first celebrities from abroad to react to her death, writing on X: "Au revoir Francoise Hardy".

In the carefree sixties, her melancholy vibe stood out, with a restraint that contrasted with the exuberant style of Brigitte Bardot.

Prefiguring the slender models that would soon take over catwalks, she became a muse for designers such as Paco Rabanne and Yves Saint Laurent.

Her career spanned more than 50 years and almost 30 studio albums, including several film and theatre roles.

Despite battling throat cancer, she was still releasing albums in her 70s, her final being "Personne d'autre" in 2018.