Antoine-Marie Préaut, former head of the regional conservation service of historic monuments, having participated in the rescue of the works of the cathedral during his fire, conditions the reception of his distinction to the maintenance of current berries.
Refuse the honors of the nation, and the order of merit? In a long message published on the LinkedIn social network, Antoine-Marie Préaut, former head of the regional conservation of historic monuments, and currently Inspector General of Cultural Affairs, sets foot in the dish. “” I form the wish of a merit which is not that of disavowal, and will receive this decoration with humility and not without joy when the uncertainty which weighs on the spared stained glass of Notre Dame will have been lifted ”, he said.
A long list of personalities who worked for Notre-Dame de Paris has established to receive the order of merit or the Legion of Honor. In addition to the preaut, which mobilized on the evening of the fire to take out the works from the rubble, appear in the Official Journal of January 19, names like those of Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment, Laurent Prades, manager of our -Dame, Julien Le Bras, president of a framework company, or Didier Cuiset, director of Europe scaffolding.
Apart from Antoine-Marie Préaut, no one seems to be offended-except to say that others, perhaps, could also have been. This merit is that “Dozens of professionals architects, conservatives, technicians, scientists, companions, entrepreneurs, agents of the prefecture, C2RMF, LRMH, Louvre, national furniture, DRAC (which) agreed to upset their daily life and associate their knowledge as much as their skills to ensure that Notre-Dame does not undergo other losses or damage than those caused by the fire », Recalls Antoine-Marie Préaut, in his message.
But the wrath of the Inspector General focuses on the case of the order of contemporary stained glass made by the Presidency of the Republic and the Archbishopric of Paris. Before Christmas, the artist Claire Tabouret was responsible for creating six large bays for the six southern chapels of the cathedral. His work will replace stained glass created by Eugène Viollet the Duke, and spared the fire. When he was in charge of heritage in the cabinet of Rima Abdul Malak, between March 2023 and January 2024, Antoine Marie Préaut was one of the discreet opponents of the presidential project.
Highlighting today “Commitment to safeguarding what makes authenticity” of the cathedral, speaking of a “Heritage oath” Consisting in transmitting the monument to the generations after, he therefore affirms that he does not wish to be decorated as long as the order takes its course.
Nearly 275,000 people signed a petition against contemporary stained glass windows. The heritage defense association, sites and monuments, said it was ready to file an appeal before the Paris administrative court to block their installation.