The nonagenarian had designated the municipality as the universal legatee, on the condition that her legacy be used exclusively for the church located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Published on February 25, 2024 at 10:49 PM. The Madeleine church in Paris © Jacques BENAROCH/SIPA.
“A larger donation, a greater love,” wrote Fernando Pessoa. An assertion that Marie-Amélie Daout, wife Dumas, would not deny. On February 20, 1974, she designated the City of Paris as the universal legatee in her will. A legacy subject to the sole condition that it be used exclusively for the Madeleine church in Paris. Why such a decision? “That’s where she met her husband for lunch when he wasn’t traveling,” a close friend told Le Parisien.
Marie-Amélie Daout passed away at over 90 years old, in a nursing home, on March 29, 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The nonagenarian was an executive assistant in a ministry in the 8th arrondissement, and her husband was Charles de Gaulle’s bodyguard. “She was a very elegant lady who never flaunted her wealth,” said the former building care taker where the couple lived. With the auction of the inherited goods from the donor and the life insurance she had taken out, the municipality could receive up to 5.3 million euros. A plaque in gratitude.
A boon, especially as the restoration work on the facades of the Madeleine church is estimated at nearly 20 million euros. “We will hold masses in her memory, she was a true lover and enthusiast of the Madeleine,” assured Mgr. Patrick Chauvet to the newspaper. The Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Heritage, Karen Taïeb, indicated that a plaque would be placed “to thank her for her gesture.”
