in the village, a unique presentation of the secrets of the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris

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“A unique and unprecedented presentation on the progress of the work for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris which, when it reopens, will be more beautiful than ever…”. The sentence is signed by Maryline Guiry, deputy general director for the restoration of the Parisian cathedral. She presented an inventory of the restoration of the cathedral, Saturday September 28, in Chailly-en-Bière (Seine-et-Marne).

Restoration and discoveries: behind the scenes of the Notre-Dame de Paris construction site

Some 300 curious and passionate people made the trip. It must be said that Maryline Guiry, originally from Chailly-en-Bière, is one of the central figures in this renovation project, after the terrible fire of 2019. A tremendous outpouring of generosity had also emerged with 843 million euros in donations, coming from 340,000 donors around the world.

Although the subject was very controversial, identical reconstruction was ultimately chosen. “It ensures the stability of the structure,” she explains. It was also necessary to take into account the wish to maintain the same silhouette and the pride of the craftsmen in being able to work as in the past.”

However, a major constraint presented itself: it would have been necessary to start with the frame and the roof before taking care of the interior, but the work on the trees used for the frame being long, it was preferable to cover everything and to reverse the calendar. Between lead decontamination and interior cleaning, more than 2 years will have passed, time to find the 2,000 most exceptional oaks.

A French production, but also the rediscovery of ancestral trades, because the size of the spire frames was made as under Viollet Le Duc. As for the main framework, it was necessary to recreate doloires – axes for cutting wood – to train those who were going to handle them…

Grinders, specialized blacksmiths: a way of bringing ancestral know-how back to the front of the Seine. The biggest mysteries solved were to find forgotten construction techniques through research and deductions.

The site also made it possible to make discoveries. “We found bodies,” explains Maryline Guiry. It was a common practice at the time, for the burial of notables. By removing the liturgical tray and carrying out excavations, we found two sarcophagi: that of Canon Antoine de La Porte and that of Joachim Du Bellay. »

Doubts persist, however, as to whether it is indeed the Renaissance poet, an excavation manager told Franceinfo.

Concerning Maryline Guiry – a lawyer by training, who worked at the Ministry of Culture and the Cité des Sciences – she agreed to carry out this presentation in Chailly-en-Bière, her favorite village… and whose church is also under renovation.

“A fair return”

“My parents settled in Faÿ in 1966,” she confides. I lived my entire childhood here, I got married at the Saint-Paul church in Chailly-en-Bière. » Although she no longer lives there, part of her family has remained in the village and she returns there regularly.

“Proposing this conference with a contribution to help with the restoration of the Saint-Paul church in Chailly is a fair return,” she concludes.

A gesture which will make it possible to increase the current pot of the Heritage Foundation, to restore the church whose bell tower was immortalized by Jean-François Millet, in his famous painting The Angelus. The inauguration of Notre-Dame de Paris is scheduled for December 7. After reopening, visits must be made by reservation.

Information: www.rebatirnotredamedeparis.fr and www.fondation-patrimoine.org (Saint-Paul church in Chailly-en-Bière).

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