Since Christmas, funeral companies in Moselle have seen the number of deaths increase more significantly than in previous winters, excluding Covid.
Funeral professionals know: mortality increases on average by 10% during winter. But since Christmas 2024, it has experienced an unusual increase. The flu epidemic is indeed considered severe by the National Public Health Agency. The processing times for a cremation in Thionville increase to almost fifteen days. At the Pompes Funèbres Générales (PFG), it is the cause of 8% of deaths, according to Virginie Guilhem, director of the eight agencies in Metz and Moselle. East. On the other hand, suicides, more frequent in winter, “are not more numerous this year”, estimates Dominique Acquaviva, manager of the eponymous company based in Marly. Sudden temperature variations have had an impact on mortality among the elderly, according to professionals. But no phenomenon alone explains this “surplus” in the number of deaths in Moselle, “of the order of 9%”, says the boss of Acquaviva.
At home, the average time for burial or cremation is currently eight days instead of four to five days normally. “The slots for priests are fewer but what is mainly blocking is the availability of presentation rooms.” The deceased are placed “in our eight refrigerated cells and we juggle between our five living rooms”. However, “we also recently had to use our civil ceremonies room and the conviviality room which usually allows families to meet around a coffee after the funeral”.
“Continuously finding solutions”
-Funeral directors know how to adapt. “We experienced the heatwave in 2003 with 18 deaths per week, then the Covid in 2019. This winter, it’s a mixture of the two in terms of density,” says Pascale Salm, head of the PFG agency on rue Lothaire. , in Metz. The company, which recruits staff, must also “push” the walls. With average deadlines of eight to ten days instead of six, it “must constantly find solutions”. Even more so “when the family has no concession and a grave has to be dug” with, again, delays. Pascale accompanied a family of four brothers whose mother died young. “The death occurred on December 30, 2024 and the burial did not take place until January 14, 2025”, i.e. 14 days of delay from the day after death, the maximum authorized by law since July 2024. “As c It was very long, we organized a day of contemplation in a living room, despite the lack of space. It was good for the family members to gather around a coffin that they had chosen red, their mother's favorite color.”
The delays are just as long for cremations – chosen at 65%. On the Eastern Cemetery site, the wait is ten days on average, twice as long as usual. “We also offer our crematorium in Yutz where the average delay is eight days. We opened additional slots on Saturdays and in the evening: excluding Covid, it is exceptional,” underlines Virginie Guilhem. Despite these obstacles, “we are absorbing the difficulties,” considers the director of the PFG of Moselle. “We take care of everything, except for the conduct of the religious service (80% chosen in Moselle). Like in the brigade of a star hotel, we must be there, but not too much, and always listening.” However, professionals “stretch their backs”, points out Dominique Acquaviva. A new episode of Covid is announced this week. “Health regulations and protocols are never the same. Once again, we will adapt…”
