burial

Funeral costs in France can often be beyond the means of the least well-off and their surviving relatives. In one region an association has teamed up with an insurance company to offer low-cost cover to ensure that the poor can organise a dignified final ceremony. In other areas local associations are naming and shaming local councils in a bid to force them to carry out their legal obligations to provide decent burial arrangements for the most disadvantaged. Mathilde Goanec reports.

Chérif Kouachi, 32, was buried amid tight security overnight Saturday in an unmarked grave in the Paris northern suburb of Gennevilliers.

The gunman, who with his brother perpetrated the January 7th massacre at the Charlie Hebdo offices, was buried in Reims, where he lived.

Mayor of Champlan denies refusing to bury baby but apologises as saga continues to spark row and child is buried in nearby town.

Right-wing mayor of Champlan near Paris provoked outrage for blocking burial of the baby, who will now be laid to rest in neighbouring town.

Religious, emotional and practical reasons are behind the trend that has developed over the past decade, even involving reburial from French graves.