Twelve days after the sudden disappearance of General Georgelin, president of the public establishment for the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, the site is in a waiting position. Of course, day-to-day business is handled, General Georgelin’s right-hand man, Philippe Jost, having been officially named “interim president”. Of course, the companies are continuing the work – the trusses of the roof structure, produced and assembled in the Perrault workshops, located in Mauge sur Loire (49), are in the process of arriving in Paris.
In the sky, the Parisians see the scaffolding of the arrow being erected, today at 65 meters in height. “We all agree to continue on the momentum”, testifies an entrepreneur. During the tribute paid in the main courtyard of the Invalides, last Friday, Philippe Jost had moreover “made a collective commitment” for the cathedral to reopen on December 8, 2024 – a date which had been suggested by Jean-Louis Georgelin. As for the President of the Republic, he spoke of an “oath made to the Nation”. With words like that, it’s hard not to go back to work. These five years of delay to find Notre-Dame de Paris, launched as a challenge on the evening of the fire, are now loaded with promises.
But while signing the guest book in memory of the general opened on the site, everyone wonders in petto who will take over from the general. Philippe Jost, who knows the site by heart, and has a reputation for being a workaholic? He formed a tandem with the general, does not have the eloquence but holds the operations with an iron fist. It would ensure immediate continuity of operations, which would reassure companies and workers. During the tribute to the Invalides, everyone was able to see Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH and great patron of the cathedral, come to greet him. Jean-François Hébert, the director general of the Heritage of Architecture, who follows the affairs from the Ministry of Culture, and knows how to be precise in things? Philippe Bélaval, former president of the Center des Monuments Nationaux (CMN) and current Cultural Advisor to the President? A great heritage professional and endowed with an immense historical culture, he would point out to everyone that the Élysée wants the new president of the public establishment to be, like the general, “representative of the president of the republic” on the site.
There are not that many personalities capable of taking up the gauntlet. Especially since listening to each other, you would have to unearth a five-legged sheep. “If we are given a technocrat, the whole dynamic will collapse,” fears an entrepreneur. “We need a person close to the Church”, argues the Archdiocese of Paris, while the military pleads for the executive to appoint “one of their own” again. Squaring the circle! Embarking General Georgelin on the Notre-Dame adventure was initially a risk. Although a man of faith, this high military man did not know how to conduct major historical monument projects and was not part of the cultural seraglio. The presidential bet turned out to be a winner, but nothing says that the same pattern can work again.
The choice of the replacement will be made anyway by Emmanuel Macron, currently immersed in political news. He gave himself a little time, probably the time needed for the emotion to subside. Tomorrow, Thursday August 31, the general will be buried in Aspet (Haute-Garonne), his native village, where he went every year, and where the family vault is located.
