French Architect among French victims in Beirut Explosion

French Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot announced that French architect Jean-Marc Bonfils, who lived in Lebanon, is among the French victims who died in the Beirut explosion on Tuesday.

Bachelot said that Bonfils participated in projects to restore buildings destroyed by the war.

"The French architect, Jean-Marc Bonfils, died in the terrible disaster in Beirut," the minister wrote on Twitter.

She praised his "great work" which includes "restoring heritage buildings destroyed" by the war in Lebanon.

"France and Lebanon are united in grief," she added.

L’architecte français Jean-Marc Bonfils est décédé dans la terrible catastrophe de Beyrouth. Je rends hommage à son œuvre majeure, telle la restauration d’immeubles patrimoniaux détruits par la guerre du Liban. La France et le Liban sont unis dans le chagrin de sa mort.

— Roselyne Bachelot (@R_Bachelot) August 5, 2020