The tree is gone. After a good delay due to unexpected weather conditions, including heavy snowfalls that made the work too dangerous to be conducted, the tree finally went down. Needless to say the chopping work was fascinating to watch, especially as I was walking by with my children, and I was nervously looking at the people who were themselves looking by the window on the same level as the crane.
The tree was already half-gone when we passed by; less than 2 hours later there was nothing left. I am now wondering if and how the roots will be removed from the ground. Knowing that the tree fell sick from the pollution of its nearby water reserves, I would be surprised if they were not. The pieces of the trunk we could see looked normal, except maybe a dark ring in the middle which my non-professional expertise could read as the proof of sickness.
There is now a big, empty space in the street. It's not looking bad I would say, the light goes through like it probably never did. But as we came back I wondered how warm it would become in the summer, with the missing shade on the churche's facade. The space will be filled with other trees, but it will surely require some long decades until reaching the majestuous size of their predecessor.