“Notre-Dame was rebuilt in 5 years thanks to you,” thanked Emmanuel Macron this Friday to the workers and craftsmen who worked on the restoration of the religious building. The Head of State made his final visit to the site before the official reopening on Saturday December 7.
“You have made the exceptional your ordinary”: Emmanuel Macron made his final visit to the restoration site of Notre-Dame Cathedral, this Friday, before the official reopening of the religious building on Saturday December 7. The Head of State then addressed, internally, the artisans and workers who worked on the “construction site of the century”.
Emmanuel Macron assured that the “shock of the reopening will be as strong as that of the fire” but that it will be a “shock of hope”. The President of the Republic judged that Notre-Dame Cathedral was part of the “soul of our country” and that it “belonged to all French people, basically to the whole world, it is bigger than us”.
“We were told it wouldn’t be possible.”
The Head of State did not fail to return to the criticisms of the construction schedule, while he announced in 2019, as soon as the fire, that it would be rebuilt in 5 years. “We were told that it wouldn’t be possible, that it was crazy, arbitrary, that we were going to do it wrong,” he recalled. “You did it, you achieved what we thought was impossible,” congratulated Emmanuel Macron.
Stonemason, he participated in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame
Memory of General Georgelin
The president did not hide his emotion when it came to mentioning General Jean-Louis Georgelin, president of the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, from its creation until upon his accidental death on August 18, 2023. “It is to him that I would like to dedicate this moment, if you allow me. I believe he would have been proud and happy.”
“Unique Brotherhood”
The project, an “aggregation of all wishes”, brought together “independents, VSEs, SMEs and large groups”. “You have made the whole of France a construction site […] and there was a unique spirit of brotherhood”, greeted the President of the Republic. “I want to believe that it remains and endures, it is the one that holds us together”, hoped Emmanuel Macron.
“For all this, the recognition of our country is immense. You shared the most beautiful construction site of the century […] You have kept this promise, the pride is immense. I am infinitely grateful to you, France is infinitely grateful to you,” concluded the Head of State.
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