A funeral chain launches midnight sales, paper cups and black balloons included.
The living line up to “plan ahead,” while the discounts fly faster than last wishes.
Wan spotlight, whiff of industrial vanilla spray: at 12:01 a.m., the company Dernier Cri lifted its metal shutter for a “Black Midnight” worthy of an insomniac hypermarket. In front of the store, a line as long as a Sunday, full of people who swear they “just came to take a look, just in case,” but leave with a quote and a “Travel light” tote bag.
Inside, the offers stack up: “Radio Silence” pack (no speeches, all wrapped up in 20 minutes), “No Detours” (shortest route guaranteed, return trip not included), and the timeless “Eco-Coffin,” foldable and certified free of visible splinters. The small print at the bottom of the poster smirks: “Flowers and regrets sold separately.” “We’re giving purchasing power back to the living; for the dead, we keep it simple,” says sales director Lucien Glaize, in an anthracite suit and with a smile permanently switched on. “Our customers want it clean, definitive — and a promo code while they’re at it.”
A DJ, past master of weepy ballads, mixes discreet slow jams while a host runs the “Dernier Cri, first served” raffle. The “Last selfie, best profile” photo booth harvests nervous grimaces; prints come in black if you tick the “Express mourning” option. Mireille, 62, swoons over the pastel urns in the window: “I hadn’t planned to treat myself this month, but at this price…” She leaves with a loyalty card: five stamps, one free candle.
The promotion is set to run all week “except in the event of exceptional crowds,” promises the chain, which swears it isn’t courting morbidity, just “the market, while it’s still breathing.” At closing, the security guard lowers the shutter over a fluorescent slogan that snaps like a polite slap: “Dernier Cri — because you have to end up somewhere.”
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