Christophe Castaner announced Thursday that he had requested a "check" on the temporary morgue installed in a hall of the Rungis market. The latter was requisitioned to accommodate the coffins of victims of the coronavirus, for controversial prices charged by the private operator who manages it. It is indeed necessary to pay 159 euros for a 6-day package to allow the admission and custody of a coffin. For the Minister of the Interior, the situation is "abnormal".
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Thursday April 9
"It seems abnormal to me that the constraints linked to the situation of confinement and massive mortalities are attributed financially to the families," the Minister of the Interior told the National Assembly fact-finding mission on the epidemic of Covid-19. Stressing that "the Rungis morgue (was) managed by a private operator", he explained that when he discovered "the tariffs" charged by him, he had "asked for a check".
55 euros for one hour of meditation
The operator, OGF, plans a "6-day package" at 159 euros for "admission and stay under the condition of the closed and sealed coffin". The additional day is charged 35 euros. A space for meditation is available to families, at the price of 55 euros for "one hour maximum".
>> PODCAST - Coronavirus: find all the answers to your questions here
Several political leaders were scandalized by this situation. "So this is the new world of today: we die alone without a friendly hand and the family pays the fridge to recover their dead? Enough! We can confine our bodies but not our humanity," tweeted the leader of the Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
"Indecency"
The EELV candidate for municipal elections in Paris, David Belliard, also denounced "an intolerable exploitation of pain and sorrow". "How can we accept to add indecency to the pain?" Exclaimed the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure on the same social network. "A nameless shame," added the president of Debout France Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, vilifying the "monsters who are profiting from the crisis".
50 euros to come and collect an hour on the coffin of his loved ones in a warehouse in Rungis! In a warehouse requisitioned by @prefpolice! If the information is proven, the Prefect must prohibit this intolerable exploitation of pain and sorrow. https://t.co/OBKCPr9kop
- David Belliard (@David_Belliard) April 9, 2020To cope with the increase in mortality due to the Covid-19 epidemic, a building on the wholesale market in Rungis was transformed into a large-capacity morgue. Wednesday evening, on BFMTV, Sandrine Thiefaine, president of funeral directors of France, competitor of OGF, had launched the controversy, judging "not acceptable" that the passage of the coffin to Rungis is "paying for families".
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> How long are healthy carriers contagious?
> What are the side effects of chloroquine?
> Adulterated tests, false calls for donations ...: watch out for scams linked to the coronavirus
> Reading, board games ... How to stimulate your brain during confinement?
> How to avoid gaining pounds during confinement?
She recalled that the legal deadline of six days to bury a deceased being now exceeded, exemptions were granted. "At Rungis, we charge an additional day for 35 euros (beyond 6 days)," she said.