French actor Arnaud Denis died by euthanasia in Belgium at the age of 43

Actor and director Arnaud Denis, one of the well-known names of the French theatre, died at the age of 43 after being euthanized in Belgium due to unbearable chronic pain. According to Euronews, Denis' lawyer, Philippe Courtois, announced that his client had to make this decision after a painful process that lasted months.

Stating that the legal procedure was completed as a result of Denis' meetings with three different doctors in Namur, Belgium, Courtois said, "The decision taken by Arnaud Denis was made after meetings with three doctors in Namur. His body could no longer carry him, he had lost control over it. His death is the result of the intense pain he had been exposed to for months."

The health problems of the artist, known for her important theater plays such as "Les Liaisons dangereuses" and "Les Femmes savantes" (Wise Women), began with the operation for her right inguinal hernia on July 17, 2023. Denis, who developed severe reactions after the polypropylene mesh implant placed in his body during surgery, had the implant removed in the USA in April 2024.

However, the famous actor, who could not regain his health despite the operation, was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis within the scope of ASIA syndrome, known as the inflammatory reaction of the body against foreign substances. It was claimed that the implant caused permanent damage to the body and immune system disorder.

In the incident, which was carried into the judicial process, Denis applied to the Paris Chief Public Prosecutor's Office at the beginning of 2026 and filed a criminal complaint on the charge of "negligent injury", but a decision of non-prosecution was issued in August.

The artist, helpless in the face of the increasingly serious situation, described his experiences with the following words in one of his last interviews with the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper:

"I can no longer leave the house, I have no social life, in fact I have no life at all. I no longer have anything that constitutes a dignified life for a person. Moreover, the situation is getting worse. I live like a cancer patient in the last stage. There is nothing more that the doctors can offer me. Deep down, a person knows that his destiny is exhausted."