Basilica of Saint-Denis: Stéphane Bern will lead the reconstruction

"I am happy to have been elected unanimously by the voters," said presenter Stéphane Bern, reached by telephone by AFP.

However, he was elected with the votes of only 17 of the 27 board members present at the start of the meeting. Mr. Bagayoko and his supporters left the room before the vote took place, in protest, according to participants. Furthermore, two other members present did not participate.

The association "Suivez la flèche" (Follow the Arrow) is leading the restoration project of the north tower and spire – struck by lightning in 1837 – of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, north of Paris. It is one of the major monuments of French and European heritage, where 40 kings and 26 queens are buried.

Stéphane Bern succeeds Mathieu Hanotin, former socialist mayor of Saint-Denis (defeated in the March elections by Mr. Bagayoko), as president of the association, who himself had succeeded the former PCF mayor Patrick Braouezec.

"When you are asked to serve, you must serve," Mr. Bern, who already sat on the association's board of directors, told AFP. He explained that the State, which owns the basilica, had encouraged him to run for the position.

"My candidacy was not against anyone, besides the mayor (Bally Bagayoko) withdrew and was not a candidate," argued the presenter, assuring that "doing politics is the last thing that interests him."

The foundation stone for the reconstruction site was laid in early 2025. "The project is on track, now we need to find the missing 10% of the budget," explained Mr. Bern, who intends to serve as a "sounding board," both in France and abroad, to solicit new patrons and attract more public attention to "this fantastic training site."

"Between 4 and 4,5 million euros are still needed to complete the 38 million euro funding," explains Nicolas Matyjasik, CEO of Suivez la flèche (Follow the Arrow) and former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Hanotin in Saint-Denis. He praises Mr. Bern's experience and expertise in promoting the Basilica of Saint-Denis, "the big sister of Notre-Dame" in Paris.

In 2018, Stéphane Bern was tasked by Emmanuel Macron with a mission to identify heritage at risk and to find new sources of funding to restore it.

According to its 2025 activity report, this "Bern mission" mobilized 365 million euros (notably through the heritage lottery) and claims to have completed 500 projects.