The curator of the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral died in an accident
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The curator of the restoration of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the former chief of the general staff of the French Armed Forces, Jean-Louis Georgelin, died in an accident. This could hinder plans to finish rebuilding the cathedral by the end of 2024. Read UP.Kultura in Telegram General Georgelin died on Friday, August 18, as a result of a fall during a hike in the Pyrenees mountains, reports the art newspaper. According to the local gendarmerie, on the evening of August 18, a representative of the Les Estagnous base reported that one of their guests had not returned from a trip. Later, law enforcement officers discovered the body of a man, identified as Georgelain, on the slope of Mont Vallier. French President Emmanuel Macron, who appointed Georgelain as curator of the restoration of Notre-Dame after a fire in April 2019, paid tribute in an official statement to one of France’s “greatest soldiers” who “stone by stone restored the wounded beauty of Notre Dame.” “With the death of General Jean-Louis Georgelain, the nation is losing one of its great soldiers. France is one of its great servants. Notre Dame Cathedral is the main creator of its revival,” Macron wrote on the social network. Avec le décès du general Jean-Louis Georgelin, la Nation perd l’un de ses grands soldiers. La France, un de ses grands serviteurs. Et Notre-Dame, le maître d’œuvre de sa renaissance. pic.twitter.com/gxskQoQbF4 — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 19, 2023 The death of the general may negatively affect the completion date of the cathedral’s reconstruction. Georgelain had a special connection with President Macron, his authority helping to speed up the work and making the promise to open the cathedral next year more realistic. It is also known that Georgelin did not mince words when he spoke about the insufficient care of French churches. When the chief architect of Notre Dame, Philippe Villeneuve, announced that he would resign if the spire was not restored to the way it was before the fire, the general publicly suggested that he “shut his big mouth”. However, Georgelain and Vilnes met weekly over a working lunch to oversee the work of the 1,000 workers and artisans working on the project throughout France. Georgelin at Notre Dame in 2021. Photo: Thomas Samson Previously, experts criticized Macron for the unrealistic announced dates for the opening of the cathedral. Now it has been officially recognized that this will not happen before the Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Currently, the grand opening ceremony of the cathedral rebuilt after the fire is scheduled for December 8, 2024, however, this date may not be final. Jean-Louis Georgelin is a famous French general. He attended the St. Cyr Military School, studied at the US Army College at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas), and then served in the infantry and parachute regiments. He was the chief of the personal military staff of ex-president Jacques Chirac, and then the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces from 2006 to 2010. In 2010-2016, he was the head of the National Order of the Legion of Honor and in 2013 he opposed the awarding of this award to the musician Bob Dylan because of his past drug use and participation in pacifist demonstrations. The general loved music, played the organ and admired cultural monuments that “express the greatness of French history.” Georgelin said that his love for cultural heritage could only be matched by a special devotion to the mountains. Fire in Notre Dame On the evening of April 15, 2019, a large fire broke out in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The fire was put out all night. Scaffolding and the roof burned, the spire collapsed. Firefighters managed to save the 850-year-old main stone structure of the Gothic building, including its two towers, but the spire and roof were completely burned and collapsed. Within 24 hours of the fire, various donors pledged nearly a billion euros to rebuild Notre Dame. Two months later, on June 16, a divine service was held in the cathedral in honor of the consecration of the altar. For safety reasons, all participants in the service were wearing construction helmets. Work on the reconstruction of the cathedral began in 2022. Read also: “We will rebuild Notre Dame”: how the Cathedral of Notre Dame burned and what was saved
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