France pays tribute to General in charge of Notre Dame Cathedral reconstruction

France paid tribute to General Jean-Louis Georgelin on Friday at the Invalides, after he passed away last week in a hiking accident in the Pyrenees.

During the national homage ceremony, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, lamented the loss of the charismatic 74-year-old, saying France lost one of its great soldiers.

Born on the 30th of August 1948, Georgelin attended the prestigious Saint-Cyr Military Academy before serving in infantry and parachute regiments and in military intelligence.

He studied at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and went on to become personal military chief to the late President Jacques Chirac, and then chief of staff of the French military from 2006-2010.

In April 2019, just days after a fire ravaged the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral and destroyed its spire, President Emmanuel Macron named Georgelin to lead the restoration work.

An ambitious project the retired general accepted.

When the news of his death broke out last week, President Macron said, “General Georgelin will never see the reopening of Notre Dame with his own eyes,” but added that when it reopens on December 8, 2024, ‘’he will be present with us.’’