Ne pas rompre la trajectoire des corps morts. Articulations professionnelles durant la pandémie de Covid-19
Résumé
Avoiding rupture in the trajectory of dead bodies. Professional connections during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic created a mortality crisis whilst simultaneously reconfiguring the care of deceased bodies, both in terms of practice and regulation. We have been able to observe multiple evolutions during this period which have impacted the treatment and trajectory of dead bodies. Based on data from the international research project “Funeral Worlds, the Bereaved and Covid-19”, supported by the COFUNERAIRE (ANR) and No Lonely Deaths (FNS), this article studies the ways in which funeral rites are co-constructed by examining how Covid-19 has impacted actors associated with funerals as well as how it has provoked new adjustments and articulations amongst funeral professionals. The handling and ultimate fate of bodies, in a context of broadening importance and urgency, has led professionals to avoid letting their actions fall into a “mortuary” logic. The health as well as the funeral sectors can be seen to have faced many of the same difficulties and showed the same attachments. By disrupting the ordinary sequences of events, the pandemic challenged the normal logic of care provision, creating a strong emotional burden for professionals alongside ethical dilemmas.