It was after an ecumenical mass celebrated in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church in Paris that an elegant tribute was paid to him. Friday morning, relatives and faithful of Hélène Carrère d’Encausse gathered for the funeral of the perpetual secretary of the French Academy, who died on Saturday August 5 at the age of 94. Many immortals, including Erik Orsenna, Dominique Bona, Dany Laferrière, François Sureau, Andreï Makine, and other members of the Institut de France, made the trip to pay tribute to his memory. Alongside in particular her husband Louis, her grandchildren, and children, the writer Emmanuel Carrère, the doctor Marina Carrère d’Encausse and her sister Nathalie, a lawyer.
The religious ceremony was celebrated by Bishop Benoist de Sinety and Father Alexis Struve, representative of the Orthodox Church, familiar to the historian specializing in Russia and the Slavic world. Born stateless to a Georgian father and a mother of German-Russian origin, the young Hélène Zurabishvili took courses in Russian language and literature at the Saint-Alexandre-Nevsky cathedral, in the 8th arrondissement of the capital. Shortly before taking French nationality in 1950. She heard the songs there which, this Friday, resounded in the Catholic building. It is this story, that of a woman attached to her roots, that her children wanted to tell. All three having taken the floor, they evoked, among other things, the memory of a mother who, seeing them curl up in a single bed when they were small, qualified with them this organization in the form of a common shelter, the kolkhoz. So many anecdotes that clouded the eyes of their storytellers and the assembly.
And how not to speak of Cardinal Richelieu, the one who was at the origin of the institution headed by Hélène Carrère d’Encausse since 1990? It was in front of her portrait that she was solemnly photographed not long ago. And it is in front of this photo that the academicians present bowed, dressed in their green coat. During the ceremony, Frédéric Vitoux showed his respect for the first woman elected permanent secretary. With her, he shared this love of the French language and the idea that defending it is today, more than ever, necessary. This, headwind against the recurring attacks vis-à-vis the positions taken by the Academy, on inclusive writing or the anglicization of the language for example, but also the age of its members. “There is no age to be an orphan,” he said.
It is, finally, on the words of the Orthodox choir, “Holy God, strong God, immortal God, have mercy on us”, that a handful of admirers – including Eduardo Pisani, 19 times candidate for the French Academy – applauded the release of the coffin. Since 10:30 a.m., under a blazing sun, the latter evoked between them the memory of the one they had met at least once in their lives. With whom they had engaged in even a bit of conversation. And the conclusion is collective: “Hélène Carrère d’Encausse was an exceptional woman, of great erudition.” A national tribute ceremony, chaired by Emmanuel Macron, will be held in the courtyard of the Invalides at the end of the summer. There will still be more of them to give thanks to the “great” lady of the Quai Conti.
