Paris (AFP)

The Minister of Culture Franck Riester judged Thursday "not acceptable" the words of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, commissioned by Emmanuel Macron to pilot the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, calling the day before the chief architect of the monument to " shut up".

"General Georgelin's remarks against Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of the historical monuments in charge of Notre-Dame, are not acceptable, respect is a cardinal value of our society. to be exemplary, "the minister wrote on Twitter.

The chief architect of Notre-Dame, Philippe Villeneuve, had decided in June for a restoration "identical" of the arrow of Viollet-le-Duc, destroyed during the fire that ravaged the cathedral on April 15th.

The President of the Republic for his part expressed his desire to include a "contemporary gesture" on the emblematic building.

Wednesday, before the Committee on Cultural Affairs of the National Assembly, General Georgelin did not hide his annoyance at the words of Philippe Villeneuve.

"As for the chief architect, I already explained to him that he is closing his mouth and that we are advancing in wisdom so that we can calmly make the best choice for Notre-Dame, for Paris, for the world," he said. , in response to a question from a Member of Parliament, the former Chief of Defense Staff, who left active duty in 2010.

"I am in the restoration of what exists," said architect Philippe Villeneuve in mid-October on RTL. "The future is either + I restore the same, it will be me +, or it is a contemporary arrow and it will be another," added the architect at the bedside of the cathedral since 2013.

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