The Paris police department said on Thursday that it had requisitioned a hall at a vast fresh food market to store the bodies of coronavirus victims already overwhelming funeral homes. Police chief Didier Lallement said officials needed a site large enough to handle “current and anticipated needs” as strains on funeral homes “are likely to persist for several weeks.”
Two visitation rooms will be set up for families to gather before the coffins are taken to cemeteries or crematoriums, where authorities have limited attendance to 20 people maximum. The first coffins will begin arriving on Friday at the Rungis market site south of the capital, and families will be able to pay their respects starting Monday.