Unless it has changed since 2011, there is no cause of death printed on the official certificate issued by the mairie where the defunct died and as I mentioned, I had to go get an attestation of cause of death from the consultant dealing with it for insurance purposes outside of France! I got ten copies the next day when the hospital had informed the mairie of the death the day before. Every case is different, the info above is more for brits rather than locals I feel but it does outline roughly what happens.
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Incredible and complete reply, thanks so much …
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Thank you very much, that’s really helpful
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Thank you @cogarch that is very comprehensive.
I think there’s another issue that’s worth bearing in mind which is how will any funeral be conducted?
Funeral parlours and crematoria are secular places and we’ve been to funerals where the whole process has been pretty perfunctory.
If the relatives want something more special (especially if they want a religious service, music, an elegy, a wake, etc) again, it’s worth discussing and planning beforehand if possible. From death to burial or cremation in France is a pretty rapid process. Those of us who have been through this in the UK have had the “luxury” of planning the event over 2, sometimes 3 weeks.
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@cogarch. Although you contradicted yourself at one point, re cause of death not being on a French certificate, all of which you said is correct and really helpful, though to be honest I am pleased that I hadn’t read it when my wife died back in June because it would have been too much to take in, and crucially, I have a wonderful French neighbour who knew it all and organised everything. 
However the following is not quite correct. It was made clear to me by the Notaire that the funeral is the deceased’s debt and as such the pompe funebre invoice, though I was given a copy, went directly to the bank to be paid out of her (frozen otherwise until the succession is confirmed) savings account with the notaire’s permission. There is a limit for this of € 5,000 which was perfectly adequate for us as the cost was as you say, between 3 and 4 thousand.
This is the same in the UK - funeral expenses get paid directly from the deceased’s estate, assuming there are liquid funds to cover it.
My lawyer who I discussed all this with in depth last week said “have the funeral directors send the bill to the bank and they will pay it out of the deceased’s account.”
We have investigated and discovered that the UK equivalent of direct cremation should be possible. The undertaker collects the body and takes it directly to the crematorium with no pre-ceremony or ceremony. There has to be a coffin with handles and identification plate, but that seems to be it. We have recorded this as our choice and agreed it with our children.
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yes, indeed… very simple to arrange… I’m glad you’ve discussed and agreed this with your children.
Thank you so much. Very helpful. It’s a lot to take in
Thank you David. I willingly defer to you as you have sadly more direct knowledge of the issues.
I was lucky in that my dad paid for everything as he could not attend so it was never part of any sucession. I think with such a bill to find the money for, it is usual to do as you did and I thank my lucky stars I did not have to as we had nothing to sell and that to my dad, it was only sitting in his bank doing nothing and gaining very little and he had known my OH for 37 years.
We paid for mum’s funeral after our dad died and took the money from what he had left us because we all knew that one day (7 years later in fact) we would have to pay for our mum’s funeral so it was one less headache to worry about and it had increased but only by £200 which was affordable between the four of us kids. That is something to think about if you have a reliable undertaker you can trust and who does this but not via a national insurance company.
They have been doing that here for many years, an elderly friend lost her husband and whilst we were at the wake after the church do, he was being cremated and the ashes were returned the next day.
I think @EmilyA is talking about the PF collecting the deceased from Hospital/Home when death occurs… and without any sort of Ceremony/Goodbyes… straight into the flames…
Yes we do - my mother used to look after the burial records for the local church so we have her wishes regarding which firm to use, fortunately.
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Exactly that. No funeral and the body taken for direct cremation by the undertaker without any ceremony. It is pretty common in the UK now and frequently followed later by a celebration of the person’s life, organised by family.
I wonder if anyone who wants “no fuss” thinks about those left and their needs?
My mother, father and mother-in-law were all cremated and their ashes laid to rest in a wonderful crematorium with massive grounds alongside a river, under great old trees. The place is stunning. And they are in the book of remembrance.
My brother on the other hand - his wife scattered his ashes. And I find that hard. I talk to him all the time, but I would also have liked a place where I knew he was.
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I know what you mean. Dad scattered my Mum’s ashes, so he told me, over South West Cricket ground in Manchester. It was more than a cricket club, it had a bar which doubled as the meeting place for all the teenagers of the district, which included Mum (I think it was a tennis club too) and as such it was very special to her. But I have never had a place where I could go and be near her.
My brother died way too young at 47, he was cremated but I have no idea what happened afterwards. The same with Dad.
Fran was totally against cremation, she always wanted to be buried here and, of course, she is. Maybe my son, and only him, will visit us from time to time, especially if he gets his wish to eventually live here in this house himself. 
At my suggestion (I was unable to be present due to le confinement) my mother’s ashes were scattered around her large garden. We didn’t see any need to mention this to the estate agent, but it seems the French are a bit more touchy about where one can, and can not, spread ashes.
Meanwhile, can’t decide if I’d like my ashes tossed into the Lot opposite the house (illegal), strewn over the other side of the gorge, where we have a wood that looks down on the house (probably illegal too), or just popped in the compost bin (don’t know if that’s illegal).
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I think having my ashes scattered at sea… means that my farflung family can gaze upon the ocean, in whichever part of the world they are… and imagine me wafting along on the waves… 
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