Arnaud Denis, 43, Dies by Euthanasia in Belgium
French actor and director Arnaud Denis died by euthanasia in Belgium at 43, after years of chronic pain following a hernia operation.
French actor and director Arnaud Denis died by euthanasia in Belgium at the age of 43. His lawyer, Filip Kurto, confirmed the news to the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), as reported by Telegraf. Independent checks by Euronews and the newspaper La Libre confirmed that the euthanasia took place on September 22, a day before the news reached the public.
Why did Arnaud Denis choose euthanasia?
It started on July 17, 2023, when Denis underwent surgery for an inguinal hernia. During the procedure, doctors fitted him with a polypropylene mesh. By his own account, he began suffering severe, chronic pain after the operation, pain that never let up.
He made the decision to undergo euthanasia together with three doctors in Namur, Belgium. Kurto described the final months of his life to AFP:
His body no longer obeyed him. He had lost control.
The pain, according to the lawyer, lasted for months before Denis made his final decision.
The actor had spoken about his condition before. In a statement to the French newspaper L’Est Républicain on January 6, carried by Telegraf, he said:
I can no longer leave the house. I have no more social life. I have no life left at all.
A fight that became a movement
Denis did not stay silent about what had happened to him. On social media, he founded a collective called French Victims of Hernia Mesh, which gathered hundreds of testimonies from people who had gone through the same type of surgery. The collective has continued to exist after his death.
A new legal complaint, filed days before his death
He filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons for unintentional injury on January 5, 2026. Prosecutors dropped the case in late August, saying the offense was not sufficiently backed by evidence.
His lawyer did not give up. On September 18, only days before the euthanasia, he filed a new complaint, this time joining the proceedings as an injured party in order to push for a judicial investigation. The family is not yet ready to make statements, Kurto said.
A career on stage
Denis spent most of his life on stage. He founded the theater company Les Compagnons de la Chimère in 2003 and worked there for years as a director. Twenty-one years later, in 2024, he received the Critics’ Syndicate award for his direction of “Dangerous Liaisons.”
The task of continuing his fight and supporting his family, Kurto said, now falls to him. The collective Denis founded remains open to new testimonies from people who have gone through the same operation.
