The fundraising campaign to restore the Valmy mill is running at a slow pace

By late Tuesday morning, just over 10.000 euros of the hoped-for 100.000 had been raised from around 8 donors since the fundraising campaign was launched on the Fondation du patrimoine website on March XNUMX.

"The mill was there on the day of the Battle of Valmy; it's one of the symbols of the building of the Republic," emphasizes Michel Curfs, head of the heritage commission within the Argonne-Champenoise community of communes. But "even locally, we feel that there's no euphoria," he acknowledges, highlighting the role that the difficult economic situation can play.

"I thought that (the fundraising) would take off significantly, that everyone was attached to this mill," regrets Cédric François, mayor of Valmy.

On September 20, 1792, the Prussian army, marching toward Paris to liberate Louis XVI, was stopped by the French army at the foot of the Valmy mill. The monarchy was abolished the next day, giving way to the First Republic.

Destroyed and rebuilt several times, the mill was almost entirely destroyed by the Lothar storm in December 1999. It was rebuilt in 2005.

Its wings then fell off in May 2022, due to a strong gust of wind and the spread of a fungus in the wood that was probably present in the heart of the tree before it was cut down.

Whether or not enough money is raised, the mill is expected to return to service in May and be inaugurated in June in the presence of the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet.

If the fundraising doesn't take off, the community of communes will increase the funding, perhaps with help from the Valmy Mill Association, Mr. Curfs said.

The tree used for the future wings of the mill, a 225-year-old oak, was cut down in January in the Valmy forest.

The total cost of the work is 164.000 euros, of which 20% is financed by the State, 20% by the department, a part by the region and another part by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), he explained.