The city of Paris has announced an unusual lottery: instead of a cash prize, participants can win a burial plot in one of the most famous cemeteries in the French capital.
The unusual initiative aims to restore deteriorating graves, the city hall announced in a statement, as reported by CNN.
The city's inner cemeteries have been nearly full since the early 20th century, with the cleaning of abandoned tombs being complicated by local regulations, the authority explained.
But now, lottery winners will have the opportunity to purchase and restore one of the 30 graves from three different cemeteries.
"In recent decades, visitors to cemeteries across France have expressed interest in restoring a historic funerary monument in exchange for a burial plot concession," the city hall stated in the release.
However, granting the chance to do so has been complicated by laws governing the land on which a grave sits, which is state property, and the concessions under which a family leases the land for a defined period.
Now, the city hall hopes to have found a solution, with 10 plots available for sale in Père-Lachaise Cemetery, where the lead singer of "The Doors," Jim Morrison, playwright Oscar Wilde, and singer Édith Piaf are buried.
There are also 10 plots in Montparnasse Cemetery, the resting place of writers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Susan Sontag, as well as another 10 in Montmartre Cemetery, where painter Edgar Degas, writer Émile Zola, and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky are buried.
Each existing grave will be available for purchase for 4,000 euros, with winners also bearing the restoration costs.
Lottery entries opened on Monday and will close on December 31, according to the city hall, with each participant subject to a registration fee of 125 euros.
Only individuals currently residing in Paris can apply.