The three French cities where it's 'illegal to die' for a very practical reason

By Holly Kintuka, Reporter

It is illegal to die in three French cities. (Image: Getty)

Out of all the things the law can ban you from doing, dying isn’t one you would expect to be on the list. However, in these three French cities, that is exactly the case.

Cugnaux and Sarpournex in the southwest and Le Lavandou in the southeast of France all have laws that "ban" death. 

Le Lavandou was the first city to roll out the ban. In 2000, the mayor banned death due to the lack of burial plots, and after a denied request for a new cemetery, it appears there was no other choice.

Mayor Gil Bernardi described the law at the time of ruling as “absurd.” He said: “It is an absurd law enacted because of an absurd situation.”

Seven years later, the mayor of Cugnaux followed in the same footsteps and banned death after also being unable to get permission to open a new cemetery.

Fortunately, the ban did work, and authorities granted permission for a new cemetery.

Sarpournex banned death for a similar reason as the previous ones.

However, its mayor was much stricter with his ban, to the point that punishment was on the line for anyone who broke the law.

In 2008, the mayor of Sarpournex banned death after an administrative court ruled that purchasing nearby private land to make the cemetery bigger would not be justified.

Le Lavandou was the first city to set the ban. (Image: Getty)

Not only did the mayor place a ban, but he also threatened residents with punishment if they did die.

In an ordinance posted in the council’s office, Mayor Gerard Lalanne said: “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.”