>>??? Offenders will be severely punished" ???

>>How?

From: The Scotsman.com

GERARD Lalanne, mayor of the village of Sarpourenx, in south-west France, has threatened the 260 residents with punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the local cemetery to bury them.

He added: "This is not a laughing matter for me."

From: Reuters South Africa

French mayor tells locals not to die

Wed 5 Mar 2008, 18:09 GMT

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.

(Reporting by Claude Canellas, Writing by Andrew Dobbie; editing by Sami Aboudi)

M. LaLanne should be reminded that, although Berthold Brecht said [in "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny"] that "There's nothing you can do for a dead man.", it is equally true that there's nothing you can do TO a dead man.

Mayor Lalanne, like King Canute before him, apparently believes that the threat of punishment will keep death away from the door. Who am I to say anything other than - they're French politicians arguing over a graveyard. None of it makes any sense to me.

Dave (imported) wrote: Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:36 pm Mayor Lalanne, like King Canute before him, apparently believes that the threat of punishment will keep death away from the door. Who am I to say anything other than - they're French politicians arguing over a graveyard. None of it makes any sense to me.

I suspect that the Mayor is actually quite astute. Assuming that it is genuine, I guess that the application for an extension to the existing graveyard was speedily re-reviewed and granted. There is nothing that bureacrats hate more than having members of the press asking questions.

Maybe the mayor is a politician with a sense of humor. I know how unlikely that sounds, but I suppose one had to turn up somewhere, sooner or later.

Some years ago, on vacation in Italy we went on an bus trip in the Dolomite mountains. During a lunch pause in a little village the group took a little walk

to melt the food and stretch our legs. There we passed the village church with it´s very small cementary - also with very little free space left.

Our guide told us that: The village "Burgermeister" had decided that citicens of the village should be burried standing, if they had paid their taxes and where free from criminal acts. If not - they also would be burried standing but

- with head down.

Bagoas (imported) wrote: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:05 pm "There's nothing you can do for a dead man.", it is equally true that there's nothing you can do TO a dead man.

Tell this to Necrophiles

allchasteswede (imported) wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:00 am Some years ago, on vacation in Italy we went on an bus trip in the Dolomite mountains. During a lunch pause in a little village the group took a little walk

to melt the food and stretch our legs. There we passed the village church with it´s very small cementary - also with very little free space left.

Our guide told us that: The village "Burgermeister" had decided that citicens of the village should be burried standing, if they had paid their taxes and where free from criminal acts. If not - they also would be burried standing but

- with head down.

That town is very creative! LOL

allchasteswede (imported) wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:00 am Some years ago, on vacation in Italy we went on an bus trip in the Dolomite mountains. During a lunch pause in a little village the group took a little walk

to melt the food and stretch our legs. There we passed the village church with it´s very small cementary - also with very little free space left.

Our guide told us that: The village "Burgermeister" had decided that citicens of the village should be burried standing, if they had paid their taxes and where free from criminal acts. If not - they also would be burried standing but

- with head down.

That's SILLY.

Who ever heard of standing on your head in a casket?

A-1 (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:42 pm That's SILLY.

Who ever heard of standing on your head in a casket?

Who said anything about a casket? Used wine cases taped end to end...