Reservations are not open yet. Soon. “I told the people who have already contacted me, we will have to call back at the end of winter,” warns Patrick Barbier. The mayor of Muttersholtz, in the Bas-Rhin, can prepare for a few phone calls. His commune will, next spring, open a cinerary forest. The second in France after that of Arbas (Haute-Garonne), inaugurated in 2019, but since stopped, because in discussions with the local services of the State.
“We have passed the legality check with the prefecture”, reassures the Alsatian councilor, well informed about the possible blocking points. “The place will be fenced off, even symbolically, and the ballot boxes will be made of natural, non-biodegradable stone. That way, they can be moved at the request of the family, which is legal. »
But concretely, what will this cinerary forest look like? The selected place, “of a little less than one hectare (10,000 m²)”, is logically on the municipal ban of Muttersholtz. “And it will be easily accessible, not very far from the road”, specifies the ecologist councilor who plans some adjustments. Like the establishment of a stabilized path so that people with reduced mobility can also access it. Or, in the clearing, the establishment of a “megalithic place” with a ceremonial table and stones to sit on.
On site, one hundred trees were selected. More or less large and regardless of their type: “oaks, maples, but also hazel trees and even shrubs. But no ash trees because they are sick”. Around each of them, all numbered with a sticker, twelve concessions distributed in a circle will be reservable. One every meter or so. With, on the ground, the possibility of inscribing the name of the deceased and their dates on a brass plate.
” And nothing else. It will also be forbidden to lay flowers”, adds Patrick Barbier, whose municipal team has made several visits to a similar place across the Rhine. “For having followed the ranger there, he explained to us that it was a struggle to ensure that the rules were respected. In Germany, there are already such places almost everywhere. And I take the bet that it will soon be the case in France. »
“There is a real expectation today”
Elia Conte Douette is also convinced of this. On the initiative of the cinerary forests in France, she had already invested a lot in that of Arbas where about twenty urns still rest. “There is a real need today. From the population on the one hand because the cemetery does not meet the expectations of some people. Commons too because cemeteries are already overloaded. Without forgetting that there is a real tendency to return to nature. »
Another argument also defended by the ecological mayor of Muttersholtz, the fact of sanctuarizing trees. “We are going to give a non-productive vocation to this part of the forest which will almost become a nature reserve. Be careful, some can be cut down if necessary. It is also written in the conditions. Like the price, similar to that of a more traditional pitch “because we didn’t want the price to be a criterion of choice”.
It will thus be necessary to count from 400 to 800 euros for an inhabitant of the Bas-Rhin municipality depending on the size of the tree, and from 800 to 1,200 euros for non-locals. With the possibility of reserving an entire tree (at 10/12th of the price). “We have already planned to enlarge little by little and to go up to two hectares if necessary”, assures Patrick Barbier. Reservations have not yet started.