During his seventh and final visit to the Notre-Dame de Paris (IVe) construction site this Friday from 10:15 a.m., Emmanuel Macron will first set his eyes on the ground adorned with a brand new paving of natural stones extracted from the quarry of Comblanchien in Côte-d’Or. On the small square in front of the three portals of the cathedral, it is a beige of refreshing clarity which will attract the gaze of the President of the Republic, in the presence, at this precise moment, of the mayor (PS) of Paris Anne Hidalgo . Nothing to do with the gray cobblestones that they tread, looking serious, on this dark evening of April 15, 2019 while the firefighters were still fighting against the flames.
“It’s going to be a burst of light!” », boasts Alban Praquin, director of the company which operates the Burgundian quarry. For his stroll of a good two hours in around ten stages, eight days before the solemn reopening of the building, the Head of State, accompanied by his wife, will be able to measure, live, all the work accomplished over the past five and a half years, by nearly 2,000 companions, the “new builders” of Notre-Dame de Paris. And thus admire the contrasts with the pre-fire era.
“A metamorphosis, a resurrection”
He who, every year, went there to take stock of the progress of the work, will soak up, in preview, the new decor of the resurrected vessel and of which only a few clandestine images have circulated on social networks these past last days. And the observation is already dithyrambic: “The interior will really show a metamorphosis, a resurrection, a splendor that we have never seen,” brightens Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment in charge of the restoration of Notre-Dame, who will be alongside President Macron this Friday.
The first big difference that stands out when entering the jewel of Gothic art: the blondness of the stone freed from the layer of grime that had blackened the walls for decades. Thanks to stained glass windows also cleared of their “crusts of pollution”, the tenant of the Élysée will immerse themselves in a monument more sparkling than ever and regaining its original appearance. Throughout the journey, it is still the “brilliance” which will set the tone: “Sparkle of the woodwork, of the paintings, of the reconstructed vaults, of the new framework…”, we note in the presidential entourage.
The President in the woods
As soon as you enter, you will come across the new bronze baptistery designed by a designer from Drôme. Mgr Laurent Ulrich, the Archbishop of Paris, will be his liturgical guide during almost the entire visit. Emmanuel Macron will have, in the distance, a view up to the golden cross in the choir which, too, “has regained all its brilliance”. In terms of furniture, the nave will seem a little empty without its 1,500 brand new seats which have not yet been installed.
It is from this long corridor, and in the presence of the chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, that he will remember the fire, the emergency work undertaken, the reflections carried out around the fidelity granted to the gestures of the builders of yesteryear .
Medieval techniques adopted for the reconstruction of the large vault of the transept crossing pierced by the spire and applied to its stones, vaults and ribs. The VIP visitor and Brigitte Macron will then realize that it is difficult “to distinguish the new vaults from those that have been restored”, say those in their circle. Then, at the threshold of the choir, eyes will turn towards the Virgin of the Pillar, symbol of Our Lady and “true miraculous” of the fire, the charred beams and the avalanches of stones collapsing just at her feet. Nearby, the curved shape of the new bronze altar will cause discussion.
The host at the peak of power will then gain height. Head to the framework for a climb in a very small group. Notre-Dame has found its “forest” built by craftsmen with the precision of goldsmiths, having drawn more than 1,300 plans and used more than a thousand ancestral oaks to reconstruct this wooded structure identically. The Macrons will venture to the punch, the central piece of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's arrow which has once again pierced the Parisian sky since February.
A presentation will be made to them of the fire safety system “entirely redesigned so that a fire like that of 2019 is no longer possible”, says the Élysée. Made up of a unique misting system, “which diffuses a water mist in the event of a fire”, and connected to a control station equipped with all the alarm signals.
Paintings, “festival” of colors
Back to shine. Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron will treat themselves to a “festival”, even a “fireworks” of colors, we promise them. They will appreciate the restored works on the north enclosure of the choir as well as in the Saint-Marcel chapel. “The effect will be that of the Sistine Chapel, a resurrection of the colors that dirt had masked over the decades”, and this, thanks to the “talent” of the painting restorers. “Compared to what existed before the fire, it was day and night, it was so dirty,” describes one of these experts.
They will also contemplate the giant reliquary housing Christ's Crown of Thorns, but the latter, saved during the fire and one of the most precious treasures of Notre-Dame, will not return to the axial chapel until Friday, December 13, during a celebration presided over by Mgr Ulrich.
Thanks to the builders
In addition to restored sculptures and other radiant mosaics, the Macron couple will undoubtedly be dazzled by the great organ, “the voice of the cathedral”. Its 110 stops and 8,000 pipes – some the size of a pen, others 10 m long – were saved and cleaned and dusted in the south of France, then reassembled in 2024, tuned and harmonized. Except that the Head of State will have to wait a good week before hearing it resonate in the cathedral, the “wake-up of the organ” being scheduled for the reopening on December 7.
To conclude his stroll, he will be treated to a gathering, in the nave, of some 1,300 happy craftsmen, business leaders, architects… who, at lightning speed, made it possible to offer him, on time, this architectural spectacle . According to the Élysée, he will give “a word of thanks” to all of these contributors who will receive a diploma, the first of which will be symbolically presented by the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. The final painting will end with a last “family photo”.
