Europe’s largest food market transformed in mortuary
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Europe’s largest food market will begin storing coffins holding the bodies of people who have died from the coronavirus, as France’s morticians struggle to keep up with the mounting death toll.
The refrigerated hall of the wholesale food market Rungis, located in a southern suburb of Paris of the same name, has been taken over by city authorities to be used for this purpose, Paris police announced on Thursday. Rungis is the main food market in Paris and the largest wholesale market in Europe.
The first coffins containing human remains will begin arriving at the hall on Friday. The building will accommodate between 800 and 1,000 coffins.
Paris Police Chief Didier Lallement said the move was necessary to relive undertakers in Paris from the immense pressure they currently face. Over 4,000 people have died from coronavirus in France.
The crisis is expected to “continue for several weeks,” Lallement said.
Paris “is the region of France the most affected by the coronavirus epidemic,” a statement from the police said.
Starting on Monday, family members will be allowed to say goodbye to the deceased at the wholesale market, but must observe strict hygiene rules.
