After nearly a week in a coma, French actress Marie Trintignant died on August 1 at a hospital outside Paris. The 41 year old suffered a brain haemorrhage following a violent argument with her boyfriend Bertrand Cantat, lead singer of the French rock group Noir Desir.

Trintignant's injuries were suffered in Lithuania where she was shooting a TV movie directed by her mother, Nadine. Cantat has admitted that the two had a physical argument but has so far denied his acts were intentional.

Trintignant's family, which includes award winning actor father Jean-Louis, have filed claims against Cantat, notably for neglecting to help a person in danger. It is believed that Cantat allowed Trintignant to lay unconscious for several hours before being brought to the hospital.

Cantat is currently in a prison hospital in Lithuania where he will remain until August 14. The French Justice Minister on Friday said the authorities would do all they could to extradite Cantat and eventually charge and try him in France.

Although doctors operated on Trintignant twice, her injuries were too severe and she was transferred to Paris from Lithuania on Thursday night. Officially brain dead and on a respirator she passed away on Friday morning.
An autopsy has been completed with the preliminary reports pointing to severe blows to the face and head as the cause of death.

Trintignant had been acting since age 4 and went on to make over 50 films and television appearances. She was nominated for 5 Cesar awards, most recently for Comme Elle Respire in 1999. She worked with some of France's greatest directors including Claude Chabrol and Alain Corneau.

Trintignant had two films in the can at the time of her death, Janis And John in which she played Janis Joplin and which will be released in the autumn. Also completed is Les Marins Perdus by Claire Devers with Audrey Tautou.

On Friday and throughout the weekend, tributes were paid to Trintignant by everyone from French president Jacques Chirac to the heads of all the French cinema agencies and leaders from womens' rights groups.