Former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces chosen by Emmanuel Macron to orchestrate the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, General Jean-Louis Georgelin died Friday evening at the age of 74 during a hike in the Pyrenees.
The PGHM (high mountain gendarmerie platoon) discovered “the body of a man who has been formally identified as General Georgelin”, said a representative of the Foix prosecutor’s office on Saturday, referring to an accident.
The PGHM had been alerted by the guardian of the Estagnous refuge (2,246 m), below Mont-Valier, who had informed him that a hiker had not returned.
“The investigations have established that his death was the result of a significant fall during the descent (from Mont Valier, editor’s note), around 8 p.m., at the level of a particularly steep rocky passage”, specified Saturday evening the parquet.
The announcement of his death sparked a shower of tributes.
Notre-Dame loses “the architect of its rebirth”, reacted the President of the Republic on the X network (ex-Twitter).
“He had known how to create the human and organizational conditions to carry out the reconstruction of Notre-Dame”, estimated on the same network the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
“The resolute pursuit of the restoration of the cathedral, in order to ensure its reopening for worship and visitation in 2024, so dear to the heart of the general, is the best tribute that all of us (…) can pay to his memory” , said Philippe Jost, director general of the public establishment Rebâtir Notre-Dame, in a press release.
“At the end of the year, we will see the arrow in the sky of Paris”, enthused General Georgelin less than a month before his death, on July 21, during the dress rehearsal for the assembly of the first floor of the spire of the cathedral in Briey (Meurthe-et-Moselle).
“General Georgelin will never see with his own eyes the reopening of Notre-Dame to the French, of which he will have been the incomparable craftsman. But on December 8, 2024, he will be present with us, when it reopens, in another way, in the emotion that we will owe him”, commented the Elysee Palace at the end of its tribute statement.
“For four years, he had been devoted to his ultimate combat mission: the reconstruction of Notre Dame,” said Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak.
In the wake of the fire that ravaged this world-famous monument in April 2019, the senior officer was chosen to move forward with determination on the extremely complex site of its reconstruction.
By setting a five-year goal for the restoration, Emmanuel Macron needed a man who could decide in the many arbitrations between very diverse professions and interests.
Square-shouldered, rough at first, big laugh, powerful voice, this man very attached to the religious heritage cultivated the direct link with the companions of the construction site, like an officer with his soldiers.
But he could bully his collaborators.
This had been the case with the chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve, whom he had asked in November 2019 to “shut up” after declaring himself in favor of rebuilding the spire identically.
As a good soldier, the general defined himself as chief of operations at the head of a “task force” for Notre-Dame and proclaimed his total obedience to the State.
“I’m keeping my mouth shut, it’s not me who’s going to decide which arrow will be selected, which doesn’t prevent me from playing in my place the role that I believe should be mine. In my place, but it’s not is not the public place”, he said.
This former student of Saint-Cyr, chief of the private staff of Jacques Chirac in 2002, had been promoted to general of the army in 2003.
Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces (Cema) from 2006 to 2010, he oversaw operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Lebanon.
Originally from Aspet (Haute-Garonne), this single five-star general, born on August 30, 1948, was cultured, not very worldly, sober, and his Catholic faith was as anchored as it was discreet.
“France and the Church are today losing one of their most devoted servants”, lamented in a press release the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, indicating that the mass of the church of Saint-Germain-l’ Auxerrois, Sunday in Paris, would be celebrated in memory of General Georgelin.
08/19/2023 19:38:01 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
