Die and be punished

A mayor in France ordered the people in his village not to die, else they face "severe punishment". Mayor Gerard Lalanne is having a headache with the cemetery being full, so he posted an ordinance that stated: "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish.", adding "Offenders will be severely punished." at the end. The mayor appealed to a nearby town for more room to expand the cemetery, but he was not given permission.