PARIS (AP) — Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, French media reported.
With his handsome looks and tender manner, the prolific actor was able to combine toughness with an appealing, vulnerable quality that made him one of France’s memorable leading men.
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Actor Alain Delon, right, waves as festival director Gilles Jacob looks on as Delon arrives for the screening of Plein Soleil at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2013. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
FILE - French actors Alain Delon, left, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, right, arrive for the inauguration of a giant Ferris wheel, in Paris on Nov. 17, 2017. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
PARIS (AP) — Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, French media reported.
FILE - Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, left, stands next to French actor Alain Delon after she was awarded the "Legion of Honor" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on July 3, 2008. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Benoit Tessier, Pool, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon, right, and French actress Mireille Darc arrive at the funeral ceremony of French actress Annie Girardot held at the Saint Roch church in Paris on March 4, 2011. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon receives a Lifetime Award during an awarding show at the Locarno Film Festival, on Aug. 2, 2012, in Locarno, Switzerland. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Keystone, Urs Flueeler, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon and model Bianca di Sofia arrive for the screening of the film "Chacun Son Cinema" ("To Each His Own Cinema"), at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Sunday, May 20, 2007. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Actor Alain Delon, right, waves as festival director Gilles Jacob looks on as Delon arrives for the screening of Plein Soleil at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2013. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
FILE - Romy Schneider is kissed by French actor Alain Delon in Morcote near Lugano, Switzerland, after their engagement on March 22, 1959. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon wipes away a tear prior to being awarded his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 19, 2019. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - French Actor Alain Delon arrives for the screening of "Chacun Son Cinema" (To Each His Own Cinema), at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon talks at a press conference after receiving a Lifetime Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, on Aug. 3, 2012. (Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Karl Mathis/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - French actors Alain Delon, left, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, right, arrive for the inauguration of a giant Ferris wheel, in Paris on Nov. 17, 2017. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon of France gets the attention of actress Angie Dickinson during a conversation at a cocktail party in Beverly Hills, Calif.on April 16, 1963. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported(AP Photo/Harold Matosian, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon waves on stage prior being declared the winner of the Miss France 2011 pageant during Miss France 2011 in Brest, western France on Dec. 3, 2011. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon and actress Lauren Bacall talk as they leave a news conference in the city of Cuernavaca, state of Morelos, Mexico on May 25, 1966. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon is escorted by American actresses Jane Davenport, left, and Pamela Huntington after their arrival from New York at Orly airport in Paris on Aug.19, 1970. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
FILE - Actor Alain Delon gets the attention of actress Angie Dickinson during a conversation at a cocktail party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 16, 1963 in honor of the French actor. Delon was in Hollywood for a brief visit, following the windup of a movie job in Tokyo. Singer Eddie Fisher was host at the party. (AP Photo/Harold Matosian, File)
FILE - In this May 19, 2019 file photo, French actor Alain Delon poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'A Hidden Life' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
FILE - Actor Alain Delon holds aloft his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)
FILE - Romy Schneider and French actor Alain Delon, recently engaged, sit with friends attending the Easter Gala on March 30, 1959 at the Sporting Club of Monaco. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon takes a short walk away from the set of a new film, "The Sicilians," during a break in the shooting in the center of Rome, on March 27, 1969. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Jim Pringle, File)
FILE- In this May 19, 2019 file photo, French actor Alain Delon poses for photographers at the photo call for his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)
Delon was also a producer. He also appeared in plays, and in later years, in television movies.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute on X to “a French monument."
“Alain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream,” he wrote. “Melancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star.”
Delon's children announced the death on Sunday in a statement to the French national news agency Agence France-Presse, a common practice in France. Tributes to Delon immediately started pouring in on social platforms, and all leading French media switched to full-fledged coverage of his rich career.
Earlier this year, his son Anthony had said his father had been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Over the past year, Delon's fragile health condition had been at the heart of a family dispute over his care that gave rise to bitter exchanges through the media among his three children.
At the prime of his career, in the 1960s and 1970s, Delon was sought out by some of the world’s top directors, from Luchino Visconti to Joseph Losey.
In his later years, Delon grew disillusioned with the movie industry, saying that money had killed the dream. “Money, commerce and television have wrecked the dream machine,” he wrote in a 2003 edition of the newsweekly, Le Nouvel Observateur. “My cinema is dead. And me, too.”
But he continued to work frequently, appearing in several TV movies in his 70s.
Delon’s presence was unforgettable, whether playing morally depraved heroes or romantic leading men. He first drew acclaim in 1960 with “Plein Soleil,” directed by Réne Clément, in which he played a murderer trying to take on the identity of his victims.
He made several Italian movies, working, most notably with Visconti in the 1961 film “Rocco and His Brothers,” in which Delon portrays a self-sacrificing brother intent on helping his sibling. The movie won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
The 1963 Visconti film “Le Guepard” (The Leopard) starring Delon won the Palme d’Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. His other films included Clément’s “Is Paris Burning,” with a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola among others; “La Piscine” (The Sinners), directed by Jacques Deray; and, in a departure, Losey’s “The Assassination of Trotsky” in 1972.
In 1968, Delon began producing movies — 26 of them by 1990 — part of a frenzied and self-assured momentum that he maintained throughout his life.
His confidence was palpable in his statement to Femme in 1996, ‘I like to be loved the way I love myself!’ This echoed his charismatic screen persona.
Delon continued to captivate audiences for years — on the way courting criticism for comments deemed outdated. In 2010, he appeared in “Un mari de trop” (“One Husband Too Many”) and returned to the stage in 2011 with “An Ordinary Day,” alongside his daughter Anouchka.
He briefly presided over the Miss France jury but stepped down in 2013 after a disagreement over some controversial statements, which included critiques on women, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrants. Despite these controversies, he received a Palme d’Honneur at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a decision that sparked further debate.
The Cannes Film Festival on Sunday expressed its “sadness.” Delon “embodied French cinema far beyond its borders,” it said, in a statement.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, dedicated to animal protection, paid tribute to “an exceptional man, an unforgettable artist and a great friend of animals,” in a statement released on social media. Delon was “a close friend” of French film legend Brigitte Bardot “who is deeply saddened by his passing,” the statement said. “We lose a precious friend and a man with a big heart.”
French film producer Alain Terzian said Delon was “the last of the giants.”
“It’s a page being turned in the history of French cinema,” he told France Inter radio. Terzian, who produced several films directed by Delon, recalled that “every time he arrived somewhere ... there was a kind of almost mystical, quasi-religious respect. He was fascinating.”
Born on Nov. 8, 1935, in Sceaux, just south of Paris, Delon was placed with a foster family after his parents’ separation when he was 4. He then attended a Roman Catholic boarding school.
At 17, Delon joined the navy and was sent to Indochina. Back in France in 1956, he held various odd jobs from waiter to a carrier in the Paris meat market before turning to acting.
Delon had a son, Anthony, in 1964 with his then-wife Nathalie Canovas, who played alongside him in Jean-Pierre Melville’s “The Samurai” in 1967. He had two more children, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien, with a later companion, Rosalie van Breemen, with whom he produced a song and video clip in 1987. He was also widely believed to have been the father of Ari Boulogne, the son of German model and singer Nico, although he never publicly acknowledged paternity.
“I am very good at three things: my job, foolishness and children,” he said in a 1995 L’Express interview.
Delon juggled diverse activities throughout his life, from setting up a stable of trotting horses to developing cologne for men and women, followed by watches, glasses and other accessories. He also collected paintings and sculptures.
Delon announced an end to his acting career in 1999, only to continue, appearing in Bertrand Blier’s “Les Acteurs” (The Actors) the same year. Later he appeared in several television police shows.
His good looks sustained him. In August 2002, Delon told a weekly magazine, L’Humanite Hebdo, that he wouldn’t still be in the business if that weren’t so.
“You’ll never see me old and ugly,” he said when he was already nearing 70, “because I’ll leave before, or I’ll die.”
However, it was in 2019 that Delon encapsulated his feelings about his life’s meaning during a gala event honoring him at the Cannes Film Festival. “One thing I’m sure about is that if there’s something I’m proud of, really, the only thing, it’s my career.”
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Retired AP correspondent Elaine Ganley contributed biographical material to this story.
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This story has been corrected to delete reference to Delon appearing in “The Empty House” in 2022.
American actress Shirley MacLaine, done up as a gangster's moll, dabs the hand of her French co-star, Alain Delon, on the set of the film "The Yellow Rolls-Rovce" at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England on Aug. 5, 1964. (AP Photo/Roy Boynton)
FILE - Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, left, stands next to French actor Alain Delon after she was awarded the "Legion of Honor" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on July 3, 2008. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Benoit Tessier, Pool, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon, right, and French actress Mireille Darc arrive at the funeral ceremony of French actress Annie Girardot held at the Saint Roch church in Paris on March 4, 2011. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon receives a Lifetime Award during an awarding show at the Locarno Film Festival, on Aug. 2, 2012, in Locarno, Switzerland. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Keystone, Urs Flueeler, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon and model Bianca di Sofia arrive for the screening of the film "Chacun Son Cinema" ("To Each His Own Cinema"), at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Sunday, May 20, 2007. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Actor Alain Delon, right, waves as festival director Gilles Jacob looks on as Delon arrives for the screening of Plein Soleil at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2013. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
FILE - Romy Schneider is kissed by French actor Alain Delon in Morcote near Lugano, Switzerland, after their engagement on March 22, 1959. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon wipes away a tear prior to being awarded his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 19, 2019. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - French Actor Alain Delon arrives for the screening of "Chacun Son Cinema" (To Each His Own Cinema), at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon talks at a press conference after receiving a Lifetime Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, on Aug. 3, 2012. (Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Karl Mathis/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - French actors Alain Delon, left, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, right, arrive for the inauguration of a giant Ferris wheel, in Paris on Nov. 17, 2017. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon of France gets the attention of actress Angie Dickinson during a conversation at a cocktail party in Beverly Hills, Calif.on April 16, 1963. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported(AP Photo/Harold Matosian, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon waves on stage prior being declared the winner of the Miss France 2011 pageant during Miss France 2011 in Brest, western France on Dec. 3, 2011. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon and actress Lauren Bacall talk as they leave a news conference in the city of Cuernavaca, state of Morelos, Mexico on May 25, 1966. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon is escorted by American actresses Jane Davenport, left, and Pamela Huntington after their arrival from New York at Orly airport in Paris on Aug.19, 1970. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
FILE - Actor Alain Delon gets the attention of actress Angie Dickinson during a conversation at a cocktail party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 16, 1963 in honor of the French actor. Delon was in Hollywood for a brief visit, following the windup of a movie job in Tokyo. Singer Eddie Fisher was host at the party. (AP Photo/Harold Matosian, File)
FILE - In this May 19, 2019 file photo, French actor Alain Delon poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'A Hidden Life' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
FILE - Actor Alain Delon holds aloft his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)
FILE - Romy Schneider and French actor Alain Delon, recently engaged, sit with friends attending the Easter Gala on March 30, 1959 at the Sporting Club of Monaco. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - French actor Alain Delon takes a short walk away from the set of a new film, "The Sicilians," during a break in the shooting in the center of Rome, on March 27, 1969. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (AP Photo/Jim Pringle, File)
FILE- In this May 19, 2019 file photo, French actor Alain Delon poses for photographers at the photo call for his honorary Palme D'Or award at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, has died at age 88, French media reported. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)
MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm that forecasters warned could bring deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds to the northern U.S. Gulf Coast.
Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 4 p.m. CDT. Packing maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (155 kph), the hurricane crashed into a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.
Power outages in Louisiana climbed rapidly to nearly 64,000. Hardest hit by the blackouts was Terrebonne Parish near where the storm's center hit land, as well as neighboring St. Mary Parish that includes Morgan City.
The National Hurricane Center urged residents in a wide area of southern Louisiana to take shelter for the night as the hurricane moved to the northeast at 17 mph (28 kph). That included New Orleans, where forecasters said the storm's eye could pass through.
“Conditions are going to go downhill really rapidly over the next couple of hours,” Jamie Rhome, the hurricane center’s deputy director, said in an online briefing just before landfall. “It’s not going to be a good night to be driving on the roads, especially when the sun goes down.”
In Morgan City, gas stations had put plywood on the windows and moved trash cans inside, with a few pumps still serving the trickle of cars passing through earlier Wednesday hours before Francine made landfall.
Retired boat captain Pat Simon, 75, and his wife, Ruth, had earlier loaded all their possessions in garbage bags and tied them down in the back of a rented U-Haul pickup truck as they evacuated their home near the banks of the Atchafalaya River near Morgan City.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that bad, like some of the other ones like Ida and Katrina,” Pat Simon said. “I mean, we’ve had some bad ones.”
Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, strengthening from a Category 1 to a Category 2 storm hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center said. Category 2 hurricanes are classified as having winds of between 96 to 110 mph (155 to 175 kph), which forecasters say are capable of extensive damage.
The center said a gust of 105 mph (168 kph) was reported from a coastal island and warned that heavy rains and hurricane-force winds were spreading inland across southern Louisiana. “Now is the time to stay inside and away from windows,” the center's advisory warned shortly after landfall.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry had urged residents to “stay off the roads, stay home and stay put.” He said the National Guard would fan out to parishes impacted by Francine. They have food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including for possible search-and-rescue operations.
Since the mid-19th century, some 57 hurricanes have tracked over or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. Among them are some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Francine was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City and was moving northeast at 17 mph (27 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph), the Miami-based hurricane center said.
Morgan City, home to around 11,500 people, sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana and is surrounded by lakes and marsh. It’s described on the city’s website as “gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the shrimping and oilfield industries.”
Larry Doiron, the owner of a Chevron station just outside of Morgan City limits, said he had enough gas to keep pumps operational through the storm.
“We’re the only place out here for the sheriff’s department, the fire department. We have gas. All the locals depend on us,” he said. “We’re going to try and stay on top of it and hopefully take care of everybody.
President Joe Biden granted an emergency declaration that will help Louisiana secure federal money and logistical assistance from partners such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Both Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also declared states of emergency, authorizing them to quickly free up resources for disaster assistance.
A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron east to Grand Isle, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of New Orleans, according to the center. A storm surge warning stretched from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border. Such a warning means life-threatening flooding could occur.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it distributed more than 100,000 sandbags to the southern part of the state and the Department of Education reported a number of school district closures for Wednesday and Thursday.
Bands of heavy rain were hitting New Orleans Wednesday morning. The city’s historic streetcars that roll on South Carrollton Avenue had to ease past cars that motorists parked next to the tracks on the grassy median. The median is a few inches higher than the street and drivers sometimes park there to avoid street flooding.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches (30 centimeters) in some spots, Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.
The hurricane center said parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were at risk of “considerable” flash and urban flooding starting Wednesday. The lower Mississippi Valley and lower Tennessee Valley could experience flooding later in the week as the soggy remnants of Francine sweep inland.
Francine’s storm surge on the Louisiana coast was forecast to reach as much as 10 feet (3 meters) from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said, adding tornado watches also have been posted over a large area of south Louisiana and neighboring Mississippi as the storm heads inland.
Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this story.
Meteorologist Jay Grymes speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine's arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
North Street Plaza prepares for Hurricane Francine Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Flood waters begin to build on Clark Avenue in Pass Christian, Miss. before Hurricane Francine Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
A resident of Dulac walks his dog around rising water as the outer edges of Hurricane Francine arrive along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Bridges are closed just miles from the Gulf of Mexico as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast in Terrebonne Parish on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Rising water has no where to go around a drainage opening, center, in Dulac as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Seth Tartaglia and his dog Magnolia Jane check out the waves and winds in Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Tammy Corey, a clerk at a mostly boarded up Birdies Food and Fuel, keeps the main door windows free of condensation, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Luling, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Jason Bledsoe hauls rope to a houseboat in preparation of moving it to a safer dock, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Bayou Gauche, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
A customer buys water at a mostly boarded up Birdies Food and Fuel, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Luling, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Sparse traffic moves along Interstate 10, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, near Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Joe Dempster, aboard the "Never Satisfied, left, and Jason Lireette, right, prepare to move a boat to a safer dock, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Bayou Gauche, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:01 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Francine as it approaches landfall over Louisiana, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
Dulac residents, top left, sit on their front porch as they watch water rise around their elevated home as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Melanie Favila talks about the impending Hurricane Francine after she returned to her trailer to retrieve important documents at a trailer park, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. She will be staying with family in a house in central Morgan City. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Pat Simon, a resident of Morgan City, stops at a gas station after loading up a rental truck with possessions from his home, as he evacuates to a hotel in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A streetcar eases past cars parked on the median in anticipation of street flooding from Tropical Storm Francine on South Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Maintenance workers for Keith's Superstores put up plywood on the Pass Christian, Miss. location in preparation for Hurricane Francine on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)
FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine's arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine's arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
Harrison County officials workon Bayou Portage bridge in Pass Christian, Miss. in preparation of Hurricane Francine Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
A handwritten sign is placed on the front door of Ceana's Cajun Cookin' restaurant informing customers they will reopen if they have electricity as Hurricane Francine begins to make landfall in south Louisiana on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Hurricane Francine floodwater rises around a statue of Mary tied to the support of an elevated home in Terrebonne Parish as the hurricane begins to make landfall along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Sandbags and plastic line the door thresholds of a Bourbon Street nightclub in New Orleans' French Quarter, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, as the city was bracing for high winds and possible flooding as Hurricane Francine approached Louisiana's coast. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Sandbags and plastic line the threshold of an entrance to the the Williams Research Center in New Orleans' French Quarter, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, as the city was bracing for high winds and possible flooding from as Hurricane Francine approached Louisiana's coast. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Boarded windows and sandbags cover the windows of a Bourbon Street bar in New Orleans' French Quarter, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, as the city was bracing for high winds and possible flooding as Hurricane Francine approached Louisiana's coast. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Kevin "Choupie" Badle, 67, rides his bike with an umbrella to buy more cigarettes at the store ahead of Hurricane Francine, expected to make landfall this evening, in Stephenville, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Luis Morfin ratchets his trailer to jack supports as he prepares for Hurricane Francine at a trailer park in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A customer enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A customer enters one of the few gas stations open, boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Oscar Torres, of Morgan City, enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Outside trash cans and product displays are moved inside a boarded up gas station in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Wanda Presa, of Amelia, La., fills her truck with gas ahead of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A customer enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Pat Simon, a resident of Morgan City, stops at a gas station after loading up a rental truck with possessions from his home, as he evacuates to a hotel in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Roxanne Riley, 42, stocks up on supplies at a Walmart as she prepares to shelter in place in New Orleans as Tropical Storm Francine barrels toward the Louisiana coast, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Mississippi Gulf Coast beachline in Long Beach, Miss. preparing for Tropical Storm Francine Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Boats leaving Pass Christian Harbor after mandatory evacuation issued Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pass Christian, Miss., due to Tropical Storm Francine. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Boats leaving Pass Christian Harbor after mandatory evacuation issued Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 in Pass Christian, Miss. due to Tropical Storm Francine. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Boats leaving Pass Christian Harbor after mandatory evacuation issued Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 in Pass Christian, Miss., due to Tropical Storm Francine. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
A message aimed at The Weather Channel's meteorologist Jim Cantore is displayed on the message board at the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway near New Orleans as the region prepares for Tropical Storm Francine Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Delwyn Bodden, a worker for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West climbs a ladder up a floodgate to lock it closed along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West locks a floodgates closed along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Weather begins to form from Tropical Storm Francine on the Harrison County Beaches in Pass Christian, Miss. Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bubby Longo fills sandbags in the old Kmart/Sears parking lot ahead of Tropical Storm Francine, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chalmette, La. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Shoppers in a suburb of New Orleans gather food supplies at a grocery store, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
A worker from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West tightens turnbuckles as they close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The windows of a raised historic house are boarded up as residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Francine along the Louisiana coast on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Lafitte, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Crabbers move their traps to inside the levy protection system ahead of Tropical Storm Francine, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in lower St. Bernard Parish, La. (David Grunfeld/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Cars drive through rain bands along Peter Rd., just outside New Orleans, ahead of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Ronell King, 32, unhoused, plans to hunker down in his tent under an overpass Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New Orleans, rather than go to an emergency shelter set up by the city in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Norman Bouisse, 76, left, and Jeremy Adam, back left, one of the captains for the 100-foot trawler Master Brandon, work at tying extra lines around a piling in their attempt to batten down their boat in anticipation of Hurricane Francine along the Louisiana coast in Lafitte on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 7:10pm ET shows Hurricane Francine in the Gulf of Mexico as it advances towards Louisiana on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
Residents fill up sand bags to protect their homes in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at a distribution site in a parking lot in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West tighten turnbuckles as they close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Workers from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West close floodgates along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Delwyn Bodden, a worker for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West climbs a ladder up a floodgate to lock it closed along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Delwyn Bodden, a worker for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West climbs a ladder up a floodgate to lock it closed along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)