How to arrange a green funeral in France
Obsèques écologiques have been slow to gain popularity in the country
Options in France include burying the urn on council-owned land
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The idea of a green funeral, or obsèques écologiques, has been slower to get off the ground in France than in some neighbouring countries and being buried in the open ground and having a tree planted on top would not be allowed (both for cremation and burial a coffin is obligatory).
However, there are places that offer similar concepts, for example allowing for a person’s ashes to be dispersed among the roots of a special tree planted for them.
A Spanish brand called urne Bios offers a biodegradable urn with a tree seed in it, so a tree grows directly out of the place where you bury it.
It says options in France include burying the urn on council-owned land, if you ask permission from the mairie, or in a designated cimetière naturel or bois funéraire. Another term you may see is cimetière vert.
The mairie of Niort opened a ‘natural’ cemetery a few years ago where there are trees and grass instead of rows of tombs.
You can scatter ashes, or bury a biodegradable urn or coffin. Other such sites have opened since in locations including the cimetière Saint Augutre, Dordogne; in Ivry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne; Aytré and La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime; and Plaisance, Vienne.
Funeral firms are also starting to offer options such as a cardboard coffin (cercueil en carton) or other models of coffin (or urn) which contain fewer harmful substances and biodegrade more quickly. One firm of Paris undertakers, Advitam, offers coffins made out of recycled wood.
A tombe végétalisée – a grave plot planted out with plants like a mini garden – is another idea.
