French Mayor Makes It Illegal For Residents To Die In His City

There have been a lot of laws made in the world and a lot of people who disobey them. But here's one that some are dying to break. The mayor of the French village of Sarpourenx has passed an edict forbidding the 260 residents of his small hamlet from passing on within city limits.

Mayor Gerard Lalanne complains his town has run out of room at the local cemetery, so he's passed an ordinance that states "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

What happens if you do? The law promises to severely punish the offenders, which would literally have to be a fate worse than death.

Lalanne claims he had no choice but to issue the ridiculous and completely unenforceable edict, after a court in a nearby town ruled his city wouldn't be able to acquire land to expand the cemetery. There's no word on what might happen to any unfortunate victim who expires in the wrong place at the wrong time without the necessary reservations.

The 70-year-old mayor is up for re-election this month and it's not clear if this legal roadblock will spell the death knell for his term in office. Fortunately, they don't have to worry about space when it comes to burying political careers.