The city of Paris has announced an unusual lottery. In exchange for prize money, participants will win the chance to be buried in one of the most famous cemeteries in the French capital.
The unusual plan aims to restore the dilapidated tomb and at the same time give Paris residents a rare opportunity to secure one of the sought-after plots, City Hall said in a statement released on Friday.
The cemetery within the city walls has been nearly full since the beginning of the 20th century, and the removal of abandoned graves is complicated by local regulations, authorities said.
But from now on, lottery winners will be given the opportunity to buy and restore one of 30 graves in three different cemeteries, and City Hall will agree to lease the corresponding burial ground to those who meet certain criteria.
“In recent decades, cemetery visitors across France have expressed interest in restoring historic burial monuments in order to obtain burial ground concessions in return,” City Hall said in a statement.
But giving them the opportunity to do so is complicated by the laws governing the land on which the graves sit (it is owned by the state) and the vested interest that families have in renting the land for a set period of time.
Now, city officials are hoping to find a solution, with 10 plots up for sale at Pere Lachaise cemetery, whose famous residents include Doors frontman Jim Morrison, playwright Oscar Wilde and singer Edith Piaf.
There are also 10 plots at Montparnasse Cemetery, home to writers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Susan Sontag, and another 10 plots at Montmartre Cemetery, where painter Edgar Degas, writer Emile Zola and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky are buried.
Existing graves can be purchased for 4,000 euros ($4,600) each, with the winner also paying for their restoration.
You will then be able to purchase the lease agreement. That cost starts at 976 euros ($1,120) for a 10-year contract and increases to 17,668 euros ($20,290) for the right to take a break forever.
Applications for the lottery will open on Monday and close on December 31, and each applicant will be charged a registration fee of 125 euros (about $144), according to city hall.
