Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #631

Paris Residents Can Enter Lottery To share Cemetery Space With Jim Morrison & Oscar Wilde
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irD3WCjv7dY
ByJack Guy
The city
of Paris has announced a lot- tery with a twist: Instead of a cash prize, entrants can instead win the chance to be buried in one of the French capi- tal’s most cele- brated cemeteries.
The unusual plan aims to
restore tombs that have fallen into disrepair, while also giving Paris residents a rare opportunity to secure one of the sought-after plots, the city hall said in a statement pub- lished Friday.
Cemeteries within the city walls have been almost full since the begin- ning of the 20th century, with the clearing of aban- doned tombs com- plicated by local regulations, the
authority explained.
But now, winners of the lottery will be granted the opportunity to buy and restore one of 30 tombs in three different cemeter- ies, with city hall agreeing to lease the corresponding burial plot to those who meet certain standards.
“In recent decades, ceme- tery visitors throughout France have expressed an interest in restoring a historic funerary monu- ment in order to obtain a burial plot concession in return,” city hall said in the state- ment.
However, giving them a chance to do so has been complicated by the laws govern- ing the land on which a tomb is
located, which is owned by the state, and conces- sions, under which a family rents the plot for a defined period of time.
Now, city hall hopes to have found a solution, with 10 plots up for grabs in Père- Lachaise ceme- tery, which counts “The Doors” front- man Jim Morrison, playwright Oscar Wilde and singer Édith Piaf among its illustrious resi- dents.
There are also 10 plots in Montparnasse cemetery, home to writers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Susan Sontag, as well as 10 more in Montmartre ceme- tery, where painter Edgar Degas, author Émile Zola and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky are all buried.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine