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Final stretch on the Notre-Dame construction site, three months before reopening
An extraordinary construction site is nearing completion in the heart of Paris. The reconstruction of the legendary Notre-Dame Cathedral, partially destroyed by fire on April 15, 2019, has entered its final stretch, three months before its reopening. Five years of work, a budget of nearly 700 million euros and new furniture: a progress report before the inauguration, scheduled for December 7, of this masterpiece of Gothic art renovated from top to bottom. – Security and reconstruction – In the aftermath of the fire, President Emmanuel Macron had set the audacious goal of rebuilding in five years. Today, immense scaffolding continues to surround this 14th-century building on the banks of the Seine, but this bet seems on the way to being met. “We are on schedule,” Philippe Jost, president of Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris, the public institution responsible for the reconstruction, recently assured on the BFMTV channel. This colossal project, which mobilized 250 companies and hundreds of craftsmen, began with securing the building and clearing tons of rubble. This crucial stage was completed in the summer of 2021, at a cost of 150 million euros, and was followed from the fall by a meticulous reconstruction (estimated at around 550 million euros) whose main challenge was the repair of the roof, ravaged by the flames. After the installation of the frames last March, the installation of the roofs was carried out for the nave and the choir. It is “in progress” for the spire and the transept, the public establishment tells AFP. In September, the eight bells of the North Tower, which had been removed to clean them after the fire, will be reinstalled, according to the same source. Inside the cathedral, work on the floors and the connection of electrical networks is nearing completion. The installation of a new fire protection system is also nearing completion and will include a misting system in the roof frames, a first in France for a cathedral, according to the establishment. – Preparing to welcome the public – Preparations are also accelerating for the return of the public to Notre-Dame, where around ten million people flocked each year before the fire. Inside, the cleaning of the walls has restored an unprecedented level of brightness and the diocese of Paris, responsible for this part of the renovation, has decided to equip the building with new liturgical furniture in brown bronze, currently manufactured in a foundry in the Drôme (southern France). “We are in the final stages of manufacturing,” Véronique Creissels, the cathedral’s communications director, told AFP. Some 1,500 solid oak chairs have also been ordered and two thirds of them have already been manufactured. The installation of all this new furniture is planned for “November”, according to Ms. Creissels. Liturgical outfits, designed by the stylist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, are being produced “by major French houses”, she explains without revealing their names. New signage and an online reservation system are also in the pipeline to facilitate the reception of the public, which is expected to be more numerous than before the fire. “We expect between 14 and 15 million per year, which is much more than the Louvre but in a much smaller space”, underlines Ms. Creissels. Finally, the reopening ceremonies must be prepared, jointly with the State, which owns the building. The list of “prestigious guests” at the inauguration on December 7 is being finalized, assures Ms. Creissels, and masses will be celebrated in the following week in “tribute to all those who contributed to saving Notre-Dame.”- New stained glass windows? – In December, Emmanuel Macron announced that he was in favor of installing contemporary stained glass windows in six chapels on the south aisle of the nave, on the Seine side, to replace by 2026 those dating from the 19th century, created by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Some 110 pairs of artists and craftsmen have applied, but this project is controversial and has received an unfavorable opinion from the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture. The procedure is nevertheless continuing with the selection of eight of them, including the one led by Daniel Buren, the Ministry of Culture announced on Wednesday.- Accidental lead – The judicial investigations into the origin of the disaster are continuing. At the end of the preliminary investigation, the accidental lead was favored.jt-bur/pel/abl/spi
