The City of Rezé has renamed its wedding hall “ceremonial hall”. Since October 16, it can host civil funerals. Town halls sometimes make municipal rooms available to host these funeral ceremonies but, within a Town Hall itself, this experiment is a first.
Loïc Chusseau, 1st deputy in charge of solidarity and administrative formalities, explains that he wants to respond to changes in society: “There are fewer and fewer religious ceremonies and the proposal we are making is a secular alternative to this type of ceremony.” This provision must last six months: “The idea is to see if there is a demand. We are also in the process of optimizing the public uses of this ceremony room which, 95% of the time, is never used.”
The room has been arranged as best as possible to accommodate the loved ones of the deceased: “There is already a possibility of bringing in a coffin or an urn and also broadcast photos and videos during the ceremony. And the time slot that we make available is an hour and a half, which is much longer than in the funeral directors’ rooms and which also allows loved ones to relax.”
The Rezé town hall made a screen available to broadcast photos and videos during the funeral ceremony. © Radio France – Anne Bertrand
By offering this space for secular funerals, “it is also bring the subject of death into everyone’s home“ and no longer make it a taboo. Despite everything, Loïc Chusseau understands the possible reluctance: “It’s true that bringing death into the Town Hall raises questions. That’s why we’re doing an experiment to see how, in use, it can work. But we’re also sure a separation between the daily use of the Town Hall and these ceremonies, with adapted circulation and messages posted around the room.”
A fee of 20 euros requested
And then, the organization of funeral ceremonies within the Town Hall could remain at the experimental stage: “We would like to have a dedicated place in the South Loire. Like what is done in the Rennes metropolis, with a civil funeral place. But we are also waiting to see the commitment of other municipalities .”
Unlike marriages, the organization of civil funerals is not within the remit of a town hall. The City of Rezé therefore requests a fee of 20 euros to use the room. As of October 16, no family has yet reserved the room for a funeral ceremony.
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