The adorned French common in command of the formidable, big-budget restoration of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has died
FILE – Common Jean-Louis Georgelin who’s to supervise reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, attends an interview in entrance of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. The adorned French common in command of big-budget restoration work on fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has died on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Jean-Louis Georgelin was 74. (AP Picture/Francois Mori, File)
The Related Press
PARIS — The adorned French common in command of the formidable, big-budget restoration of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Jean-Louis Georgelin, has died. He was 74.
President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute Saturday to considered one of France’s “best troopers, best servants,” who “stone by stone, was restoring the wounded magnificence” of Notre Dame. Earlier than being pulled from retirement to supervise the cathedral reconstruction, Georgelin beforehand served as chief of France’s navy common workers, overseeing operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans and past.
Citing the regional prosecutor, native information experiences mentioned Georgelin died whereas climbing within the Pyrenees, probably in an accident. The mountain rescue service within the Ariege area mentioned a physique was discovered Friday close to the village of Bordes-Uchentein.
Macron mentioned in a press release that Georgelin died within the mountains, reflecting “a life at all times turned towards the summits.” The assertion didn’t present particulars.
Born Aug. 30, 1948, Georgelin attended the distinguished Saint-Cyr navy highschool earlier than serving in infantry and parachute regiments and in navy intelligence. He studied on the U.S. Military’s Command and Common Workers School at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and went on to grow to be private navy chief to late President Jacques Chirac, after which chief of workers of the French navy from 2006-2010.
Quickly after the 2019 hearth that toppled the spire of Notre Dame and consumed its timber-and-lead roof, Macron named Georgelin to guide the restoration work. Artisans round France are utilizing medieval supplies and strategies to rebuild the Gothic landmark.
“It’s a option to be trustworthy to the (handiwork) of all of the individuals who constructed all of the extraordinary monuments in France,” Georgelin mentioned earlier this 12 months in an interview with The Related Press.
The spire is being hoisted atop the cathedral piece by piece this 12 months, a improvement that Georgelin referred to as “the image that we’re profitable the battle of Notre Dame.”
Macron lamented that “Gen. Georgelin won’t ever see the reopening of Notre Dame together with his personal eyes,” however added that when it reopens on Dec. 8, 2024, ‘’he might be current with us.’’
