A mass in the Saint Louis des Invalides cathedral, followed by a tribute ceremony in the Courtyard of Honor of the Hotel, at 11 a.m.: Friday August 25, France is preparing to gather around General d’ army Jean-Louis Georgelin, President of the Public Establishment for the Conservation and Restoration of Notre Dame de Paris.
His brutal death, Friday August 18, during a hike in the Ariège Pyrenees, created a shock wave, while everyone was on their vacation spot. Since then, the President of the Republic has left the Fort de Brégançon, in the Var, and returned to the Élysée. He should obviously preside over the ceremony on Friday, in order to publicly recall the general’s long action in the service of France. Already, in a press release, the Presidency of the Republic hailed a “man of valor and courage” and a “virtuoso troop leader”. In the courtyard of the Invalides, Emmanuel Macron should insist on the crucial role of the general for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris. The monument was, in the eyes of the general, “the soul of France” and he spared no effort in carrying out the work. “His action allows us to be confident for the continuation of the work, with the aim of reopening in December 2024”, estimates the Elysée on Wednesday.
Friday’s tribute should be solemn, in the presence of several ministers, including that of Defense, Sébastien Lecornu, and of course, that of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak. The brother and sister of the General also wanted to invite companions from the construction site, as well as the architects of the cathedral. We know that General Georgelin was close to “his troops” and admired these heritage craftsmen capable of working for the rebirth of the cathedral. On August 31, the body will be buried in Aspet, in the Ariège Pyrenees, the general’s native village where the family vault is located.
Without waiting for the official tribute, the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, went to the site on Wednesday after the Council of Ministers. From Square Jean XXIII, in front of each person mobilized on the site, including companions and companies, the latter recalled how “the general’s voluntarism” had made it possible to remove obstacles by bringing everyone together. “He was able to create a solid team cohesion that you will be able to keep afterwards”, she continued, indicating that “the best way to pay tribute was to continue with energy”. After designating Philippe Jost, right arm of Jean Louis Georgelin, “acting president” of the public establishment, a minute of silence was finally observed.
Past the commemorations, and the time of mourning, it will be necessary to delve into the delicate file of the succession of the general. Emmanuel Macron has already started thinking about it. Eyes are turned to Philippe Jost, as well as to Philippe Bélaval, current cultural adviser to the President of the Republic, who held the presidency of the center of national monuments (CMN) for twelve years. In addition to these two men to whom we lend intentions in a logical way, but not necessarily founded, some would have already made it known that they were “ready to take up the gauntlet”.
Given the state of progress of the site – the public contracts have been awarded, the spire and the framework are being redone – it is necessary to find someone capable of following in the general’s footsteps, while being a specialist in major works. There is, it seems, no question of drawing again from the corps of the Army: an unprecedented and offbeat figure (he did not know anything at the start about the conduct of a construction site), the general succeeded in have the graft taken, which was not certain at the start. Nothing, however, has yet been decided and, according to the Élysée, “nothing will be before the tribute ceremonies”.