Philippe Jost, a senior civil servant and right-hand man of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who died suddenly in the mountains this summer and who was responsible for supervising the reconstruction site of Notre-Dame, succeeds him, the Elysée announced Thursday, September 7. Agence France-Presse, confirming information from Le Figaro.
General Georgelin, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in April 2019 to supervise the site, after the fire destroyed a large part of the cathedral, a masterpiece of the gothic art known throughout the world. He died accidentally on August 18 in Ariège while hiking in the Pyrenees, a few days before his 75th birthday.
Philippe Jost, 63, a polytechnician by training, has spent his entire career in the defense sector. As deputy director, he had acted as interim head of the public establishment in charge of the site since the death of General Georgelin.
The Elysée therefore chooses continuity for the continuation of the construction site, which should be completed at the end of 2024 to allow a reopening of the cathedral at the beginning of December of the same year. The date of December 8 had been advanced by General Georgelin himself as well as by the diocese.
