In Lyon, the town hall is green to the death

Emmanuelle Ducros 08:59, November 16, 2023

In Lyon, the city council will deliberate today on a "funeral strategy" for the city, which should be in place by 2026. With some interesting innovations and others that will spark debate.

The city has a deputy who deals specifically with these funeral matters. Laurent Bosetti. In an interview he gave to the local weekly Lyon Capitale, he pointed out that death is an unthought of public policy. And yet, it is the meeting point of social, economic, societal and environmental issues and which deserves, according to him, to be problematized and politicized. He has a mantra: he wants to "ensure that death is not an additional vector of social inequality".

How can this translate, social equality, when one is dead?

Through the implementation of social pricing for concessions. This mechanism has not yet been fully established, and could be based on the family quotient, as is the case for the price of canteens. A social experiment! The General Code of Local Authorities does not provide for differentiated pricing, but does not prohibit it. Lyon wants to bring the idea into the debate. Interesting idea.

The city hall of Lyon is an ecological town hall. It also wants to engage in an "ecological transition of death".

With an investment plan for the renaturation of cemeteries, which will be deconcretized, labeled "Refuge of Biodiversity" by the LPO. The City of Lyon wishes to support the societal transformation of funerals. One in two French people now chooses cremation... Lyon will develop ecological alternatives: "natural squares" in its cemeteries, no tombstones, no vaults, no formaldehyde care, coffins made of untreated wood from certified forests and solvent-free varnish. It is necessary to "offer qualitative spaces to the deceased" and their families. Green, even in death.

Lyon's funeral strategy also includes the desire to develop new forms of ecological burials.

Yes, and that's where we're less prepared. It completely shakes up cultural taboos, you'll see. Lyon would like to be able to test new forms of body treatment. An evocation that can be a bit shocking.

Humusation: the body is transformed into compost so that it can be used by the earth. Aquamation or aquatic cremation consists of hydrolyzing a body to dissolve it. The liquid can be used as fertilizer. And then the promise. There, the bodies are frozen, reduced to freeze-dried pieces that can be reincorporated into the earth.

All this is currently forbidden in France but the Lyon town hall wants to bring these techniques into the public debate and it intends to move the law. It's not just an above-ground environmentalist fantasy. For example, the authorisation of humusation was proposed to the Assembly by a modem MP in September 2022. So far, without success.