22 January 1932: Commander of the Légion d'honneur
Two weeks before his death, Fernand Jacopozzi was raised to the rank of Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur. He was fifty-four. The ceremony took place privately, in his Parisian apartment.
On 22 January 1932, Fernand Jacopozzi is appointed Commander of the Légion d’honneur. He is fifty-four. The ceremony is quiet, held in private — he is already gravely ill.
A belated recognition
The distinction comes after a lifetime devoted to illuminating Paris. By this point, Jacopozzi has already signed:
- The illumination of the Eiffel Tower for Citroën (1925, 250,000 bulbs)
- The secret Faux Paris (1917–1918, classified defence)
- Notre-Dame and dozens of Parisian monuments
- Thirteen years of Christmas illuminations for the grands magasins
Two weeks before death
Fernand Jacopozzi dies on 5 February 1932, exactly fourteen days after his promotion to Commandeur. He is buried at Père-Lachaise cemetery, division 86.
His daughter Donatella, aged ten, attends the funeral. She inherits the archives, the photographs, and the memory of this man whom Paris will forget for decades.
The Tower still shines
At the time of his death, the Citroën Eiffel Tower is still illuminated. It will remain so until 1934 — two more years, an involuntary posthumous tribute from the city to its magician of light.