to be buried at home, as the actor wished, a practice which remains “exceptional”

Alain Delon, a cinema legend, died on Sunday at the age of 88 in his home in Douchy, Loiret. This is where he had wanted to be buried.

Can you be buried in your garden? The question is back in the news after the death of Alain Delon on Sunday, August 18. The actor, aged 88, made it one of his last wishes. He wanted to be buried near his dogs on his property in Douchy, in Loiret. However, this is not the first time that such a case has occurred: at the end of 2020, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was buried on private land in Authon in Loir-et-Cher. Brigitte Bardot also wishes to rest on her property in La Madrague in Saint-Tropez.

The law allows this possibility, but as an exception. “Legally, the term ‘exceptional’ leaves a wide margin of appreciation”Louis Le Foyer de Costil, a public law attorney, told franceinfo.

This specialist in funeral law explains that the law actually imposes several conditions. First, the property must be located outside an urban area, at least 35 meters from the neighborhood. In the case of burial, a hydrogeologist must give a favorable opinion on the absence of risk of soil pollution and water contamination.

Finally, and above all, the prefect must give his agreement. On this point, the Alain Delon case is unique according to Louis Le Foyer de Costil: “If it is Mr. or Mrs. Michu who wants to be buried on their property in the countryside, and all the criteria are met, normally, it is no. Alain Delon is not a general case since he is a big international star, but normally, that is not what is taken into account”.

“His life is exceptional but his death is ordinary, so it will be interesting to see what the prefect says.”

Louis Le Foyer de Costil, public law attorney

to franceinfo

For the prefect’s agreement to be given, this decision must “makes sense”, according to the lawyer. This may be the case if “The body, for example, is extremely complicated to repatriate or if, on the property, there have already been historical burials because it is a castle. If someone very important or even unknown has already been buried on a property, we could say that it makes sense to also bury his widow there. If there is already a person buried there, we can say that it does not add any inconvenience to society”.

If the prefect refuses, it is extremely complicated to contest. It is still possible to refer the matter to the administrative court. “If the prefect says that a condition is not respected and that it is false, then we could contest it. But if he just says: ‘You respect all the conditions, but I consider that your case is not exceptional’, then it is very difficult to contest. It would be necessary to justify that we are in an exceptional case, because normally, the wishes of the person alone are not enough,” assures Louis Le Foyer de Costil.

Permissions are rare because the consequences are numerous. “In 50 or 100 years, we don’t know what the land will be like. Will people want to build on it? Because we won’t be able to build a new house. And even if we say ‘no new house’, imagine that we have to expropriate to build a hospital in 100 years or that we have to run a water or electricity network. That could be very complicated, because we’re not supposed to disturb the dead,” takes the lawyer as an example.

“We must protect land and property so that we don’t have human bodies everywhere preventing the installation of networks or the construction of a metro. And we must also protect the dignity of the dead. That is why normally a cemetery is under the control of a mayor, because there are guarantees for the dignity of human remains.”analyzes the funeral law specialist.

There is also another complexity with this approach. Burial creates a lifelong servitude, a right of passage for the relatives of the deceased who will be able to pay their respects at the grave, including after the resale of the property. Furthermore, when the prefect gives or does not give his agreement, the decision is not officially published.