Tribute to Jean-Louis Georgelin: Emmanuel Macron salutes the career of a "servant of the State and the Republic" who became "the general of the cathedral"

“Adieu, mon général”, concluded the President of the Republic before La Marseillaise sounded. A national tribute was paid on Friday August 25, at the Hôtel des Invalides, to General Jean-Louis Georgelin, former Chief of Staff of the Armies and responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral, who died on August 18. On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron hailed the career of a “servant of the State and the Republic”, of a “secret lover of heritage” who had become “a familiar figure, the general of the cathedral”. The Head of State was accompanied by the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, and his wife, Brigitte Macron.

“General, on December 8, 2024, the doors of Notre Dame will open. (…) We will think of you (…), of your missing figure among these pillars, of the pride you would have felt in the face of this success ensuring the place for your name in the long chain of times. (…) I will think of you, ”promised the head of state, in a fifteen-minute speech.

The death of the general occurred during a hike in the Pyrenees, after a fall on the slopes of Mount Valier. He was 74 years old.

“Willingness to Serve”

Five-star general, Jean-Louis Georgelin, born on August 30, 1948 in Aspet (Haute-Garonne), former student of Saint-Cyr and chief of staff of Jacques Chirac at the Elysée, had been promoted to general of army in 2003. Chief of the French army staff from 2006 to 2010, he oversaw operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Lebanon.

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had chosen him in 2019 to orchestrate the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, to move the construction site forward with determination. “When that day in April 2019 I entrusted him with the fate of this colossal, almost impossible project, the general expressed only one thing: his willingness to serve. He did not flinch at the presentation of his mission, to rebuild in five years, ”recalled Emmanuel Macron during the ceremony.

The funeral of Jean-Louis Georgelin will be celebrated on August 31 in his native village, Aspet, in Haute-Garonne.