French Mayor Tells Locals Not to Die

A mayor in the French village of Sarpourenx has told locals that if they don't already have a plot in the overcrowded local cemetery not to die, adding that "Offenders will be severely punished". The weird thing is, this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened. Way back in December of 2005 I blogged about a mayor of a Brazilian town trying to ban locals from dying due to its cemetery being full (blog post here: Mayor Wants to Ban Death) Here's the story from Yahoo!News:

French mayor tells locals not to die

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish".

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished".

Link to the full story.