The State’s power to organize the death of individuals can only be comprehended in light of the relationships that unite different social spaces with the institutions designated to define and organize death. The funerals of French Presidents between 1877 and 1996 illustrate this point. Although not representative by research standards, these events are presented as such by a number of observers : journalists, state and religious leaders, and descendants ; in some cases, this is equally true with certain sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists. The aim of this paper is essentially political ; it exposes the different mechanisms employed to ensure presidential funeral ceremonies are perceived as the norm. These mechanisms are in fact the object of negotiations ; they are co-produced by the institutions concerned. Far from faithfully representing the desires of the deceased, the form of these ceremonies expresses internal concerns of different institutions and manifests the issues affecting their relationships.