Imagine death being forced upon you when you’re very much alive and kicking?

Well, Frenchwoman, 58-year-old Jeanne Pouchain, has been fighting the government for the past three years trying to prove she is not dead.

Pouchain is from the St Joseph village in France.

She was the recipient of a letter from the Lyon Court of Appeals in 2017, declaring her dead and that her family was required to repay money she owed to a former employee.

“My problem is that I’ve been declared dead,” Pouchain said.

“I’m alive for my husband, for my son, for my loved ones, for the people around me, but for the justice system, I’m dead.”

Back to imagining death, how can someone be ruled deceased when they are alive?

What happens to Pouchain’s documents of identification? Are they all invalid because she is supposedly “dead?”

“I feel like I’m living a nightmare,” she exclaimed.

Being ruled deceased forbade her from being able to drive, from being able to visit the hospital, as she doesn’t have any insurance. No social security, frozen bank accounts?

According to online publication, The Guardian, Pouchain received the death certificate from the Lyon court after a dispute involving a former employee.

Pouchain actually owned a cleaning company where she hired a few locals.

The employee with whom she had a dispute was seeking some form of compensation after being fired some 20 years ago.

The Lyon court ruled in favour of the former employee but, when the courts were unable to contact Pouchain, she was declared dead.

Pouchain’s attorney, Sylvain Cormier, called this declaration a “grave error”, according to the Associated Press.

“At first I had a hard time believing my client,” said Cormier, adding that he has never handled such a “crazy” case.

“The most important thing is to prove that I am alive. To prove I exist. I want the state to return my identity,” said Pouchain.

On January 11, Cormier, on behalf of Pouchain, filed an unusual motion to overturn the 2017 death declaration made by the Lyon court, in an attempt to prove that Pouchain is actually alive.

“It’s my last chance to recover my life,” Pouchain said.