Chief of Jacques Chirac’s private staff in 2002, promoted to army general in 2003, chief of staff of the French armies from 2006 to 2010, then special representative of the president for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris : it is quite naturally at the Invalides, that the Nation paid homage, Friday, to this great servant of France that was Jean-Louis Georgelin. In the main courtyard of the Hôtel des Invalides, the ceremony was both very ceremonial, given the long past in the service of the country of the deceased, and moving, the tone of Emmanuel Macron’s funeral eulogy n’ not being there for nothing. “ The general was a voice, a force that goes a movement that came from afar”, estimated the Head of State, “ He was Catholic as he was a soldier of France and servant of the Republic, without anything of all this is incompatible”.
The Republic, he served it, these last four years, with the rebirth of the cathedral Notre-Dame of Paris. Companions, architects, companies and employees of the establishment he directed were widely represented. For this last farewell, the general’s brother and sister wanted to invite some of the construction site alongside the President of the Republic, Madame Macron, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, several ministers and the former President of the Republic. , Nicolas Sarkozy. The fighting world, the military, his class of Saint-Cyr of 1967, that of the cadets of Free France (1985) of which he was commander but also the Grand Chancellery and the education house of the Legion of Honor which he chaired between 2010 and 2016 were also present, reflecting the general’s long military background.
The morning started with a mass in the Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral. The general was a man of faith and readily said that his mission in the service of the cathedral was “an act of faith”. Instead of rows of banners, trophies of war that have belonged to enemies of France throughout history, ten French flags were unfurled. The office was held by Monsignor Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, in the presence of Monsignor Antoine de Romanet, Bishop in the Armies. Since April 2022, the first had gotten to know the general and his ultimate fight to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris. “These moments have something surreal”, then admitted to the microphone General Bentégeat, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, recalling this “ brotherhood in arms” which bound many participants, the “fierce determination of the general” as well as his “acting skills”, and his humor.
For Notre-Dame de Paris, “” no more question of games, we touched what was essential in your eyes, your faith “, he continued, before giving the floor to Philippe Jost, director of the public establishment and the general’s former right-hand man. “We make a collective commitment before you: to carry out this magnificent mission to reopen this cathedral in 2024,” he said visibly moved. Two fellow carpenters then placed two models, testimonies of their work, near the body of the general, and to applause – proof that the rebirth of the cathedral figured high in the pantheon of the general, which everyone readily recognized. After the mass, the homage was held in the Cour des Invalides, presided over by the Head of State, also Chief of the Armed Forces. Carried by Saint-Cyrians, the coffin entered the vast courtyard. Suspended moment during which everyone really became aware of the disappearance of the general, who died suddenly on a hike in Ariège, on August 18.
The President of the Republic took the floor, in a concise manner, from which was perceived a form of affection for the one he had appointed to rebuild the monument in five years. “His voice preceded him by a few meters, it escaped from the window of his office (located in the former chapel of the Élysée, editor’s note) and made those who worked with him smile in advance, “recalled Emmanuel Macron. “A workaholic, he was all willpower and knew how to decide,” he continued, praising “a charisma linked to his erudition and his general culture, as well as a force not devoid of finesse (…), a form of freedom and a distance”. He was “ a soldier imbued with hope” and faith for whom, “ where there is a will, there is a way”. “ I entrusted him with the destiny of this almost impossible site, and he would become its greatest craftsman (…) becoming the general of the cathedral. »
The monument must reopen to worship and to the public on December 8, 2024, the feast day of the Virgin Mary. This date had been suggested by the general, it is nonetheless “an oath made to the Nation” by the President of the Republic, who ended his eulogy by addressing the deceased: “My general, on December 8 , (..) In the chimes, the whole nation will hear you laugh, growl, declaim. We will hear your voice, strong determined, returned from beyond the grave, but still there. Patriote, from France canticles of canticles. Then we can say thank you.” After a Marseillaise performed by the French army choir, the coffin left to the sound of Chopin’s funeral march, triggering a moment of emotion. On the steps of Saint-Louis, stood a detachment of the Paris fire brigade, in memory of the fight against the fire that they had led on the evening of April 15, 2019. The funeral will be celebrated on August 31 in Aspet, Haute-Garonne. This is where the general was born, where he returned regularly to recharge his batteries, where the family vault is located.