In Toulouse, 40.6% of deaths – compared to around 48% in France – end in cremation. And this figure is growing inexorably by 1% per year. Sometimes creating, until recently, a waiting period that added to the grief of families. But since last week, a new funeral pole has just opened to the south of the city, on the border with Saint-Orens, where four cremation ceremonies can now be held per day. Four more. While only the Cornebarrieu crematorium, opened in the 1970s opposite the agglomeration, was so far available with these two facilities.
A shortage often forcing families to opt for trips to Carcassonne, Tarbes, Pamiers or Albi. Or therefore to wait a long time, too long, as in 2018 when modernization work at the crematorium increased waiting times beyond 10 days.
The possibility of 1,250 more cremations per year
“It was essential to provide a complementary offer”, considers Ghislaine Delmond, the elected official in charge of funeral directors. In 2021, 2,285 cremations took place in Cornebarrieu. According to the calculations of the deputy mayor, the new metropolitan equipment, thanks to its three ceremonial rooms, should make it possible to organize “1,248 more per year”, and to reduce waiting times to “2 -3 days “.
Something to delight Maïté Rebeix, the president of the Haute-Garonne crematist association. “We worked hard and stormed a lot for that,” said this early activist. She is “very, very happy” with the development of the equipment and that “the cremation message has passed”. Especially with elected officials. Because in this area, the revolution is underway. A crematorium already opened in October, in Villefranche-de-Lauragais, south-east of Toulouse, another should enter service by next year in the south, in Lavernose-Lacasse.
Moreover, there is no question of closing the old crematorium of Cornebarrieu, reassures Ghislaine Delmont and the new crematorium is “sized to accommodate a second equipment, if necessary”. So, fight won for the crematists? Maïté Rebeix does not claim victory. She recalls that 90% of Bretons choose cremation. Considering that the taboo is not completely lifted, she is still trying to convince people about the option of an “altruistic” eternal rest in these times of “saturation of cemeteries” and geographical distance from families.