French mayor bans dying

SARPOURENX, France, March 6 (UPI) -- A mayor in southwest France has threatened residents of his village of Sarpourenx with severe punishment if they die because there's no room in the cemetery.

Mayor Gerard Lalanne posted an ordinance in the council offices advising the village's 260 residents that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added, "Offenders will be severely punished," Homes Worldwide said.

The 70-year-old mayor, who is hoping to be re-elected in local elections, told journalists, "It may be a laughing matter for some, but not for me."