Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mortality rate in France. According to a study by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), posted online last Thursday, 95,000 more “than expected” deaths were recorded between March 2020 and December 2021. In Calvados, another “peak of deaths” was observed in… April 2022, report West Francequoting funeral professionals.

As a result, the Caen crematorium, the only authorized equipment in the department, has difficulty coping. A funeral assistant, interviewed by the regional daily, evokes “a natural aging of the population and cancer”. And he and his colleagues talk logistics.

“We have to ask the prefecture to obtain overruns”

“The legal period between death and burial is a maximum of six days. We have to ask the prefecture to obtain overruns. Obtaining a slot for a cremation can take seven to eight days. It is clear that a single crematorium, for the whole department, is not enough,” they worry.
While the choice of cremation is constantly increasing – some even believe that it will exceed that of burial in the coming years – two new structures, in Bayeux and Lisieux, are eagerly awaited.
The first should open next year, if all goes well, the second perhaps “late 2024 or early 2025”.
​