Cedre Imperial of Meudon
A tourist attraction connected to World History and Nazi resistance
A cedar of Lebanon in Meudon, planted around 1799, at the turn of the nineteenth century. Around it, two centuries of stories — some documented, some legendary, one lived by a friend of the editor of this article — and a problem: real estate development, and a concrete stub.
A present of Empress Josephine, wife of Napoléon
It is said that the Cedre Imperial was a present of Empress Josephine who had a passion for exotic cedar trees.
She lived at the Château de Malmaison where she had built a spectacular botanical garden.
Josephine offered cedar trees as you might offer an expensive chocolate box.
Two of these trees were planted in Meudon, one on rue Napoleon (today 11 rue de la Republique), the other 12 rue du Cedre.
Over time the Cedre Imperial acquired the legend to be able to “transmit good energy”
The tree is connected to many, many stories. Some are transmitted, most are lost, and others might still appear.
The stories are connected to people from Meudon, but they also travelled through a chain of people via London and Saint Petersburg to come back to France via the Romanovs, to the ears of the fashion designer Coco Chanel.
A landmark in the history of Brazil and of the United States
We don't know how many people found inspiration or energy in the Cedre Imperial. But the editor of this article knew one woman that really did. The radiation of the cedar gave her the force to carry out an extremely complex mission.
The woman was the daughter of two modest school teachers from Castro, Brazil.
She was extremely beautiful.
1938 — Aimée Sotto Mayor discovered the tree through Coco Chanel.
Chanel was fascinated by her look and her fashionista attitude, not realising the young woman was a secret service agent on direct mission for Getulio Vargas, the President of Brazil.
Vargas had been approached by Nazi Germany to join the Axis Alliance forming with Italy and Japan. Aimée had the mission to play the role of a wealthy party girl only interested in fashion, while secretly collecting political information.
She was so beautiful everybody was captivated by her.
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
The German lawyer Helmuth James von Moltke gave Aimée a folder containing everything Hitler was planning, and nobody outside the inner circle of Nazi Germany could imagine. The documents turned the fashion girl into a pre-war anti-nazi activist.
Moltke and his resistance partner and friend Adam Trott, later forming the “Kreisauer Kreis”, tried everything to connect with Roosevelt, but they could not find access. Their hope was Aimée as their messenger.
This happened in 1938, one year before the outbreak of WW2 and almost two years before the invasion of France.
The mission was massive and highly dangerous: transmit ultra secret Nazi information to other countries.
Aimée needed the energy of the Cedre Imperial to change the mind of two presidents.
See also: Christian Dior under agents.
More photos in the book Elsie de Wolfe's Paris — Frivolity before the Storm
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
Brazil
Brazil was easier, as President Vargas was fascinated by Aimée and trusted her judgement. Alzira Vargas, the daughter of the president, and Oswaldo Aranha helped.
But the mission needed to be handled with extreme discretion as the Brazilian government was full of Axis supporters, like the Generals Eurico Dutra and Góes Monteiro.
Instead of entering the Axis, Vargas turned into a period of neutrality, before allying with the United States.
Today many people in Brazil believe that it is Aimée who kept the country away from Hitler. And in some way the energy of the cedar might have helped, making the Cedre Imperial from Meudon, located at a distance of 9.154 km from the Palacio de Catete in Rio, something exceptionally valuable in Brazilian History.
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
Nothing was publicly known until the Vargas diaries, locked away for 40 years, were opened.
The problem of the cedar facing a real estate project, and a recent book by the Brazilian journalist Delmo Mereira, A Ben Amade, brought Aimée's life into the public eye: the book on Amazon.
United States
Aimée understood she had to connect with the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as only the economic strength of the United States would be able to stop the plans she had seen.
Sotto Mayor had already met Roosevelt in November 1936, but connecting with him was impossible. Roosevelt firmly wanted to stay out of the conflict in Europe.
Meditating next to the Cedre Imperial she had an idea: connect with Roosevelt through one of his sons.
The easiest place to meet them would be the US Embassy in London, where Ambassador Joe Kennedy Sr and his wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy liked to throw receptions.
No Roosevelt sons — but two handsome young student boys: Joe Kennedy Jr and his younger brother John F. Kennedy, both captivated by Aimée's look and charisma.
February 1939 — Joe came to Paris to see Aimée. The next day she took him to Meudon and the Cedre Imperial…
Next to the Cedar something happened that should never happen to a Secret Service Agent: she fell in love.
It took a bit of time, but the plan that had come alive under the Cedre Imperial finally reached the White House, located at a distance of 6.159,63 km.
October 1939 — Moltke's underground resistance partner Adam Trott had travelled to Washington to meet Roosevelt, but he was simply not granted access.
November 1939 — pre-war Paris became too dangerous: German Abwehr agents in Rio had found out who Aimée really was. She left France via Meudon and Le Havre, continuing her anti-nazi lobbying activities from New York.
Aimée's idea was the right one. Joe connected with Elliot Roosevelt, and this might have influenced the US President to change his opinion, thanks to information the US administration simply did not want to believe in 1939.
1941 — while Time magazine elected her as one of the World's most elegant women, Aimée quietly continued influencing American decision makers behind the scenes to oppose the Nazi regime.
Joe Kennedy Jr had a dream: make Aimée become the First Lady of America.
June 6 1944, D-Day: America was ready to liberate Europe, but this was only possible because preparation had started early.
August 25 1944 was the liberation of Meudon; many US soldiers like Joe Kennedy Jr lost their lives in the battle of France.
But Kennedy's death did not mean the end of the story. He always remained the N°1 in Aimée's heart.
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
Half a century later, the story continues
1986, June 2 — Aimée, already 83 years old (her age was a secret), met another young student who had something useful: a driver's licence and a car. The student just loved to be with her, and she loved to be with the student.
From time to time Aimée asked the student to drive her to Meudon to see the Cedre Imperial. Arriving at the tree she put her arms around the cedar's trunk and started to meditate.
The student did not understand what was going on, but over the next twenty years he discovered her Kennedy story. Joe Kennedy Jr had always stayed in her heart and the Cedre Imperial was the witness.
There was also Aimée's Chanel story and many more… still not realising his friend was much older than he imagined, and a major secret service agent that might have had a direct impact on World history.
The photograph on Getty Images.
During one of his Paris trips, Aimée showed Ted Kennedy the Cedre Imperial. They had a driver already described before.
A real estate project in conflict with the tree
- 2021 — Denis Larghero presents a real estate project which needs the grounds of the Cedre Imperial.
- The tree is presented as dangerous.
- An association opposes the project, and hundreds of children paint the tree.
- A bit of the never written Aimée de Heeren × Joe Kennedy Jr story comes to paper.
- Under the pressure of the local population, the mayor Denis Larghero stops the construction project.
- Grateful for not cutting the Cedre Imperial, many supporters of the tree — including the editor of this article — vote for Denis Larghero in the 2026 municipal elections.
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
Admire the beauty of the Cedre Imperial on a video made in 2021 by David Aaron Benali to successfully save the tree from a real estate project.
Strange attitude of the city of Meudon towards its most iconic monument
Whenever a city has a remarkable tree, the municipality puts up a tourist information plate explaining the tree's history.
No sign in Meudon. No article on the municipal website honouring its history. Nothing to cherish or to promote the landmark.
- Instead, construction of a thick concrete stub, making it impossible for water to reach the roots.
- No watering in the summer.
- The health of the tree declines.
- July and August 2026 heatwaves make the concrete stub almost as hot as a stovetop burner.
Normally Visit Meudon.com would love to invite you to visit one of the world's most magical trees. It's only 6 km from the Eiffel Tower…
Sitting under the cedar, admiring its beauty, thinking about two centuries of history, watching the birds sitting in the trees is something magical. You could experience for yourself the energy the Cedre Imperial was able to give.
But sadly a drama happened
For years a massive concrete stub stopped the cedar from getting enough water.
The health of the tree started to decline during the 2026 heatwaves: extreme high temperatures were boiling its roots.
A new concrete stub created by the city administration was getting so hot it was impossible to walk on it barefoot.
Videos were made asking Denis Larghero to urgently remove the concrete stub, so the Cedre Imperial could recover. The website Cedre Imperial.com documented the concrete stub: cedreimperialmeudon.com.
A video about the Imperial Cedar, hosted by YouTube. Loading it sets Google cookies.
But instead of doing something to help the tree…
The energy of the cedar is gone
A disaster happened
2026, August 12
Right at the peak of the French holiday season, the advisors of Denis Larghero sent out a communiqué notifying a report advising to cut the tree. A few hours later — impossible for anybody to react, impossible to get a second report — the tree is cut. Only two days to kill a two-centuries-old witness of French and international history: the city's communiqué.
Marcel Diebolt, a controversial Prefect of Paris, had done the same in August 1971, to destroy the beautiful Baltard pavilions of les Halles de Paris.
The drama happened August 22 2025, the day of the eclipse.
What Denis Larghero might not have realised is that many, many people love the Cedre Imperial Meudon — even someone that was on the first flight to the moon.
The Cedre Imperial survived everything — thunderstorms, heat waves, wars, Nazi occupation — except one thing: an obsession of real estate development.
When Denis Larghero became mayor of Meudon, the idea came up to get rid of the “annoying cedar” blocking grounds that could be used for construction.
While the communiqué of the mayor features the immediate danger of the tree. Everything went so fast — nobody had the time to oppose.
Visit Meudon.com
2026, August 24 — VisitMeudon.com and VisitMeudon.fr were activated so that the Cedre Imperial will never be forgotten.
Initially Visit Meudon was imagined to invite you to admire a unique tree, and to see if you could also feel the energy the Cedre Imperial was able to give to so many people.
The website uses the popular “Visit Branding style”, also used by VisitBrasil.com. VisitParis01.com / VisitParis20.com already link to VisitMeudon.com.
It's a Visit! (itsavisit.com)
Today the grounds of the Cedre Imperial are empty. All you see is the massive concrete stub and a sign from the mayor:
“Cèdre Rue de la République — Urgent action for security reasons”, plus a handwritten note: “Menteur (Liar)”.
If you visit Paris, come to see the place. What has happened is worse than the Louvre after the theft of the French Crown Jewels.
Next to it, a poem written by a lady from the city.
Le grand cèdre coupé
Agnès, le 24 août 2026
C'est la vie arrachée,
l'ombre décapitée.
En plein cœur de l'été,
l'acte innommable, barbare s'est déroulé
dans l'indifférence totale et calculée !
Ô tristesse : le grand cèdre est perdu à jamais…
Hélas coulent nos pleurs amers, pour tous les Meudonnais.
The great cedar cut down
English adaptation of the poem by Agnès
It is life torn away, betrayed,
the shadow beheaded, unmade.
In the full heart of summer's shade,
the unspeakable, barbarous act was played
in indifference total and coldly weighed!
O sorrow: the great cedar is lost beyond recall…
Alas, our bitter tears flow, for Meudon, one and all.
The real estate project, or the garden of the Cèdre Impérial
Many people in Meudon don't believe it was really necessary to cut the tree; on the contrary, they believe the real reason is a real estate project.
They believe something similar to the hideous project from 2021 is back on its way: a municipal medical centre that could also be housed, for much less cost, in several other empty buildings of the city.
As an alternative to the building
The square, once a beautiful garden, could also become a “square de la Résistance”, in reference to the spot where, back in 1938 and 1939, a magical tree once gave the necessary energy to a young woman to influence two major decision makers.
With the help of her boyfriend Kennedy, she might have significantly contributed behind the scenes to lay the groundwork of the 1944 liberation of France and of the 1945 end of the Nazi regime.
For Aimée de Heeren the Cedre Imperial was also a memorial for her friend Joe Kennedy Jr, his copilot Wilford John Willy, and all the 30,000 American soldiers that died for the liberation of France.
Restoring the 2.300 m² garden — the parcelle N°394 (AP 304) in Meudon — planting new “Imperial Cedars” and creating an interactive information square would be a far better idea than to proceed with an unnecessary real estate project.
The garden could also be called “Aimée × Joe Kennedy Square”, or “square Coco Chanel”: with all the history connected to the location, there are many possibilities.
In memory of the Imperial Cedar
Over 1000 children have been inspired by the Cedre Imperial and expressed themselves through a painting.
All the drawings on Instagram: #cedreimperialmeudon.
A Google Street View of the spot. Loading it sets Google cookies.
Text and photographs: cedreimperialmeudon.com (Association pour le Cèdre — ARCBM).