"You're not allowed to die," Says French Mayor

[Athena]

Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die
Wed Mar 5, 3:58 PM ET

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished."

The mayor said he was forced to take drastic action after an administrative court in the nearby town of Pau ruled in January that the acquisition of adjoining private land to extend the cemetery would not be justified.

Lalanne, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Wednesday and is standing for election to a seventh term in this month's local elections, said he was sorry that there had not been a positive outcome to the dilemma.

"It may be a laughing matter for some, but not for me," he said.

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Those crazy Frenchmen. If only it were that easy. :p

[TXChris]

What are they going to do, bring you back to life and make you live there for a longer period of time?

[nurseronda]

Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die
Wed Mar 5, 3:58 PM ET

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished."

The mayor said he was forced to take drastic action after an administrative court in the nearby town of Pau ruled in January that the acquisition of adjoining private land to extend the cemetery would not be justified.

Lalanne, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Wednesday and is standing for election to a seventh term in this month's local elections, said he was sorry that there had not been a positive outcome to the dilemma.

"It may be a laughing matter for some, but not for me," he said.

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Those crazy Frenchmen. If only it were that easy. :pHey Mayor....Ever hear of Cremation?....lol :rolleyes:

[gprime]

Hey Mayor....Ever hear of Cremation?....lol :rolleyes:

Maybe this is one of the more heavily Jewish areas of Frances. And that is something that, though halachically permissable outside of a few pieces of contrary passook, it strongly frowned upon.

[swivel]

Start burying them vertical, I say.

Or compost. I don't get why people care about their bodies after death. The funny thing is, the more religious you are, the more you seem to care about physical trappings. Every atheist I know wants to be burned informally in the back yard, or drug out into the woods where the pile of old Christmas trees are.

And I had no idea Jews were against cremation. What a gas!