Repatriation

Death outside of France

If someone who lives in France dies outside of France and the body is to be brought back and they are accompanied by friends or family, the latter should tell the authorities in the country concerned.

They should speak to whoever deals with the registration of deaths, such as a council register office in the UK; and, in the case of an accident, the police.

They should also tell the local French consulate. The consulate will arrange for a declaration to the Service Central d’Etat Civil in Nantes, a branch of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The consulate will help with formalities for repatriation to France (note that zinc-coated coffins are used for international transport).

The consulate should be able to supply a dozen copies of the death certificate, but for extra ones you must apply to Nantes.

If a person dies alone in a foreign country then the local officials will themselves contact the French consulate and efforts will be made in France to alert family.

Repatriation of a body to the UK

Repatriation of a body to the UK costs at least €5,000 before funeral costs.

If you are a second home owner and the death occurs in France it may be that your travel insurance will cover the cost and arrange the procedure.

Policies on your credit cards may possibly also help.

In terms of cost and bureaucracy it is far easier to have ashes brought back to the UK, or other home country, than a body.

In the case of a body, the funeral directors will undertake the formalities. The British consular service may also be able to guide you (a list of UK ‘international’ funeral directors can also be found on this website). 

The body will have to be embalmed and the funeral directors will obtain a laissez-passer for the coffin from the prefecture where death occurred.

They need the death certificate, a doctor's certificate that the body has no contagious diseases, and authorisation for closure of the coffin from the mairie. Some prefectures may also ask for a certificate from the police that they were present at the closure.

They will also need the deceased’s passport, birth certificate and/or marriage certificate.

Funeral directors in the UK and France should liaise. It is not advisable to organise a date for the funeral in the UK before authorities have finished their procedures.

If the death occurred in straightforward circumstances an inquest will not be needed in the UK and, if appropriate, a cremation order can be obtained from the Home Office (usually by the UK undertaker); there is no equivalent order for burials.

If the death occurred in other circumstances (violent or unnatural, no identified cause etc.), then a coroner will hold an inquest and – because French death certificates do not state the cause of death – may order a post mortem examination, even if an autopsy was performed in France.

It is legal to post ashes but it is recommended to use a private courier with delivery receipts. Make sure the ashes are in a solid, well-sealed container. Do not mark the contents on the package but write ‘fragile’ on it.

If you will be flying back, contact the airline and UK customs to check procedures which may vary. If you are taking ashes as hand luggage use a non-metallic container provided by the crematorium which can be scanned by security.

Some airlines say if you are taking it in the cabin it should not be recognisable as an urn. Others may ask you to place ashes in the hold, in which case you will need a metal container.

You need a certificate from the crematorium and a copy of the death certificate as well as permission from the prefecture to take the ashes abroad. This is the same if you are transporting ashes by land or sea.

Useful vocabulary for speaking about death in France

La mort (silent ‘t’) – death

Le décès – death (more formal)

Le deuil – mourning

Mourir, décéder – to die

Il est mort (‘t’ silent), elle est morte (‘t’ pronounced) – he/she is dead

Il est décédé, elle est décédée – deceased (not to be mistaken with décider – to decide)

Le défunt, la défunte – the deceased

Un enterrement – burial

Les obsèques (feminine) – funeral

La crémation – cremation

Etre enterré/e – to be buried

Etre incinéré/e – to be cremated

Les pompes funèbres – undertakers

Une tombe, une sépulture – a tomb

Un cimetière – cemetery

Un cercueil – a coffin

Une couronne mortuaire – wreath

Un convoi funéraire – a funeral convoy

Un corbillard – a hearse

Une urne – urn for ashes

Le corps – the body

Les cendres (feminine) – the ashes

Une chambre mortuaire – chapel of rest

Une veillée mortuaire – a wake

Un maître de cérémonie – (funeral) celebrant

Un crématorium – crematorium

Laïc – non-religious

Un faire-part de décès – death notice

Un monument funéraire – funeral monument

Un caveau – a vault

Feu (example: feu votre femme): '(the) late'.

Invariable adjective (so no feminine or plural form), used in expressions such as: j’ai bien connu feu votre tante – I knew your late aunt very well.

The vocabulary in this column supplied by Camille Chevalier-Karfis of French Today.

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