When Axel Griveau, fresh out of high school, told his family back in 2020 that he wanted to become a mortician, no one believed him. However, the idea was a very serious one for him, stemming from a sad event that had occurred a few months earlier, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: the death of his great-grandmother.
As he bid farewell to this beloved relative, he noticed that she seemed "at peace," thanks to the efforts of the funeral parlor's staff and, in particular, the embalmer. This brought him comfort in his grief and encouraged him in his calling – to make death into his life's work.
Among the many professions in the death care industry, the young man chose to study thanatopraxie. This term, equivalent to "embalming," refers to the preservative treatments performed on the body of the deceased to delay its inevitable deterioration and restore its natural appearance ahead of the funeral. According to the National Funerary Federation (FNF), around 1,000 embalmers practice their profession throughout France.
Calling on these professionals, far from being systematic, is a matter of family choice. In France, in 2018, 39% of the deceased underwent embalming treatments, according to a 2019 Sénat information report. This percentage has been rising steadily since they first appeared in the 60s and 70s.
"The emergence of thanatopraxie reflects a change in our social perceptions of death," said the sociologist Laurence Hardy, the author of a thesis on changing attitudes to death in France's Brittany region. "Before the 1960s and 1970s, the mortuary cleansing performed on the deceased was an 'entry ritual': The deceased had to be presentable before God, yet without any signs of external transformation. Now, embalming is an 'exit ritual,' as the aim is to enable loved ones to keep a beautiful image of the deceased."
This new, highly regulated ceremonial practice requires certification. Aspiring practitioners in France must obtain the national embalming diploma. This qualification, which can be obtained after high school, is divided into two stages. The first is a selective theoretical examination organized by the health ministry every January. To qualify, candidates must present a certificate confirming that they have completed their theoretical training. The second is a practical assessment, which embalming students can undertake after having performed at least 75 preservation operations under the direction of a course supervisor.
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