Paris launches cemetery monument lottery to preserve historic gravesites
Paris has introduced a new initiative allowing residents to purchase and restore historic funerary monuments in three of its most renowned cemeteries, offering 30 abandoned 19th-century gravestones through a public lottery, Kazinfrom News Agency correspondent reports.
The initiative aims to balance heritage preservation with rising demand for burial space in the capital. According to the city officials, many cemeteries have been full since the early 20th century, and heritage rules limit the removal of deteriorated structures. Restoring existing monuments instead of replacing them is intended to protect historical aesthetics and reduce environmental impact.
Under the plan, lottery winners must fully restore the monument within six months and obtain a burial concession beneath it within a set period, with the design required to remain faithful to the original. Once both conditions are met, the burial becomes a standard tomb.
“If one of the two conditions of the contract signed between the Parisian and the City of Paris is not met (restoration of the monument, purchase of the concession), the sale of the monument is canceled and the buyer loses his investment,” the officials explained.
Authorities clarified that purchasing a burial concession is essentially renting a plot for a fixed term or for life, with the land remaining municipal property while the monument belongs to the holder. If the concession expires or the site is not maintained, the plot returns to the city, and remaining structures become municipal property.
Eligibility is limited to residents currently living in Paris, and the monuments are priced at €4,000 each. The cemeteries involved, Père-Lachaise, Montparnasse, and Montmartre, are also well-known tourist attractions, home to the graves of cultural icons such as Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, and Serge Gainsbourg. However, none of these notable monuments are included in the program.
Earlier, Kazinform reported on US-based memorial fireworks infused with cremated ashes and a UK “afterlife tourism” service, reflecting a broader shift toward alternative approaches to commemoration as traditional burial space becomes increasingly limited.