Eclectic French tycoon Tapie, dies aged 78

FILE PHOTO: French businesman and European election candidate Bernard Tapie delivers his speech at a campaign meeting, June 9, 1994. Tapie leads the Radical list "Energie Radicale". REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Bernard Tapie's rags-to-riches life story of a failed pop singer-turned-tycoon who dabbed into politics, bought a top soccer club and did a stint in jail transfixed France for decades.

He died on Sunday aged 78, having suffered from stomach cancer in the final years of his life.