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Crowdfunding for funerals
With the average funeral now costing €3,500, a surprising way of covering the expenses is being offered – crowdfunding.
Though used just 40 times last year, Clarisse Drot, of funeral price comparison site meilleures- pompes-funebres.com, says that once people get used to the idea it will become popular.
“There are more and more cremations, where people don’t want donations of flowers for the tomb, so this is a different way for people to contribute when someone passes away.
“It can be difficult for the person closest to the deceased to ask for money, so it is often a friend or more distant relative who sets it up.
We offer guidance over the phone.”
The firm makes a 5% charge for its costs. “A lot of people have difficulty paying for funerals with 30% asking to pay in instalments.”
The money needed is usually raised in 48 hours, she said.
In Paris, where funerals cost around €4,500, the mairie has introduced a method, called Tontine 2.0, to allow family and friends to contribute to a collective pot to fund a funeral via the city’s own funeral services.
