“Where there is a will, there is a way. Emmanuel Macron paid a vibrant tribute to General Jean-Louis Georgelin, the head of the Notre-Dame restoration site who died accidentally in the mountains, during a ceremony this Friday at the Invalides.
“Workaholic”, “leader of men”, “exemplary servant”… The President of the Republic hailed the former chief of the army staff and the strategist for the restoration of the famous Paris cathedral ravaged by a fire in April 2019. “On December 8, 2024, we will find Notre-Dame (…) You will be there my general”, “we will think of you, I will think of you”, launched Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte, of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and many members of the government, in front of the coffin placed in the heart of the courtyard of the Invalides.
“Farewell General”
“In the carillon, through the strokes of the Angelus piercing the sound of the bells of Notre-Dame de Paris, the whole Nation will still hear you. We will hear your voice laughing, scolding, declaiming (…) patriotic voice, voice of France, canticle of canticles. Then we can say thank you. Farewell my general”, concluded the Head of State.
General Georgelin had been chosen by Emmanuel Macron to orchestrate the reconstruction of Notre-Dame in five years and its reopening in 2024. He died on August 18 at the age of 74 during a mountain outing in Ariège. A detachment of the Paris fire brigade lined the steps of the Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral, where a mass preceded the ceremony, in tribute to the fight against the fire they led to save the cathedral.
Funeral on August 31
This former student of Saint-Cyr, chief of the private staff of President Jacques Chirac in 2002, had been promoted to army general in 2003. Chief of staff of the French armies (Cema) from 2006 to 2010, he had supervised 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 as anchored as it was discreet, according to those close to him. His funeral will be celebrated on August 31 in his native village of Aspet, in Haute-Garonne.