Heft in lightness: Literary icon Milan Kundera dies at 94

Milan Kundera, whose dissident writings in communist Czechoslovakia transformed him into an exiled satirist of totalitarianism, has died in Paris at the age of 94.

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The renowned author died Tuesday afternoon, his longstanding publishing house Gallimard said in a one-sentence statement on Wednesday.

It confirmed that he died in Paris, but provided no further information.

Kundera won global accolades for the way he depicted themes and characters that floated between the mundane reality of everyday life and the lofty world of ideas.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his works "reached whole generations of readers across all continents" while President Petr Pavel called him a "world-class writer".

"With his fate in life, he symbolised the eventful history of our country in the 20th century," Pavel said. "Kundera's legacy will live on in his works."

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Kundera was "a writer and a voice that we will miss".