On Rue St.-Honoré, Paris

The coffin of fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent at Saint-Roch church after his funeral mass on Thursday in Paris. (Yoan Valat/European Pressphoto Agency)

Neighbors of the Église Saint-Roch watch during the funeral cermony. (Jean-Luce Huré for The New York Times)

The funeral this afternoon for Yves Saint Laurent at the Église Saint-Roch began at 3:30 and ended around 5, although photographers had gathered in front of the small church before 9 o’clock this morning. Rue St.-Honoré was eventually closed for the arrival of French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla, who wore a charcoal pantsuit, and there were throngs of people in the smaller streets nearby.

Catherine Deneuve arrives at the church carrying a bouquet of green wheat. (Jean-Luce Huré for The New York Times)

About 800 people were reportedly invited to the funeral for Saint Laurent, who died Sunday evening at his home. Pierre Bergé was of course there, as was Saint Laurent’s mother, Lucienne Saint Laurent. Among the designers attending were Hubert de Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alber Elbaz, John Galliano, Sonia Rykiel, Stefano Pilati, Christian Lacroix and Vivienne Westwood. According to wire reports, Karl Lagerfeld, who first met Saint Laurent in the 1950s when they won Wool Secretariat prizes, was away on business. It surprised me, though, that he didn’t attend the funeral.

Betty Catroux, who was Saint Laurent’s muse and great friend, arrived with her husband Francois Catroux. Loulou de la Falaise, who for years worked with Saint Laurent, was with her husband Thadee Klossowski and their daughter Anna. Among the mourners were Bernard Arnault, François Pinault, Marisa Berenson and the models Claudia Schiffer and Mounia, who did many YSL shows.

See more photos of the Saint Laurent funeral.