Section 2: Funeral and burial regulations

The mayor or, failing this, the representative of the State in the department shall ensure as a matter of urgency that any deceased person is buried and buried decently without distinction of religion or belief .

The mayor is responsible for policing funerals and cemeteries.

The mayor’s police powers cover the method of transporting deceased persons, the maintenance of order and decency in cemeteries, burials and exhumations, without it being permissible to make distinctions or lay down particular requirements on account of the beliefs or religion of the deceased or the circumstances that accompanied their death.

Burial sites other than cemeteries are also subject to the authority, police and supervision of mayors.

Ceremonies are performed in accordance with customs and according to the different faiths; families are free to pay the expenses according to their means and faculties.

The legal provisions relating to funeral honours are applied, whatever the nature of the funeral, civil or religious.

No special requirements may be laid down, even by decree, for funerals, depending on whether they are of a civil or religious nature.

In order to ensure that the police measures prescribed by the laws and regulations are carried out, the operations of closing and sealing the coffin when cremation takes place are carried out: – in communes with a State police system, under the responsibility of the chief of district, in the presence of a police officer delegated by him; – in other communes, under the responsibility of the mayor, in the…

The surveillance operations mentioned in the first paragraph of article L. 2213-14 alone give entitlement to fees, the amount of which, set by the mayor after consulting the municipal council, is between €20 and €25. This amount may be updated by order of the Minister responsible for local authorities in line with the cost of living index of the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. These fees are…