On April 15, 2019 we mourned Our Lady who, asphyxiated by the flames, was collapsing little by little… But here is the hour of the resurrection, more than five years later, thanks to the hard and brilliant work of 2000 artisans and workers. Construction site of the century.
Eight days before the official reopening of the building, the president declared that “ the shock of eraopening will be as strong as that of the fire. But it will be, I believe, a shock of hope”. Returning to the tragedy of 2019, which he described as a “national injury”, he paid tribute to the considerable effort of the artisans who participated in the reconstruction effort: « you were his remedy through will, through work, through commitment […] You have achieved what we thought was impossible.”
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Emmanuel Macron gave himself a final site visit in ten stages on Friday, broadcast live on television. His speech came after two hours of wandering around a new Notre-Dame which shines with a thousand lights. And, in his footsteps, the world discovered the first images of the new Notre-Dame.
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A visit in ten steps
The first stage took place outside, on the square and its just finished limestone paving. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the architect who designed the square, Bas Smets, were notably present. Then, Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte, the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich and the head of restoration, Philippe Jost, entered the cathedral.
The opportunity for a first overview of the striking interior, with the cleaned blond stone becoming resplendent again and a perspective on the golden cross enthroned at the back of the building.
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The third stage, the transept crossing, allowed us to discover the stone vaults restored with the same methods and materials as in the 13th century. Mr. Macron listened to the explanations of Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of historical monuments, and Henry de Reviers, masonry and stone cutting craftsman.
Then there was the passage in front of the new bronze liturgical furniture – including the altar -, imagined by the designer Guillaume Bardet, and in front of the statue of the Virgin on the Pillar, miraculously saved from the fire of 2019.
Then ascend to the heavens, or almost, for the fourth and fifth stages, with the discovery of the framework, first that of the choir then that at the level of the spire. The forest, that is to say the wooden frames which dated from the Middle Ages, disappeared in the flames and was rebuilt in solid oak – the equivalent of 2,000 trees. All the pieces of the immense puzzle have now been put together, using the same techniques and the same pieces of wood as back then.
During a detailed exchange during the passage through the framework, the president was entitled to a presentation on the new fire safety system, which benefits from technological innovations. It is therefore equipped with a water misting system which, in the event of a fire, diffuses a mist of fine droplets to smother it.
A final tribute and see you soon
After the ascent, return to earth for the sixth stage, where visitors descended to the northern slope of the choir to admire the murals. Enough to highlight another aspect of catering: artistic crafts. The same goes for the seventh stage in the Saint-Marcel chapel. Freed from the dirt that masked them, its new colors promise, according to site managers, a “Sistine Chapel effect” and a visual “fireworks display”.
During the eighth and ninth stages, visitors discovered the reliquary with the precious crown of thorns, saved during the fire, then the statues which form the Vow of Louis XIII. Finally, the tenth and final stage was devoted to the Grand Organ of Notre-Dame. The largest in France, it includes 8,000 pipes, some of which are the size of a ballpoint pen and others measuring more than 10 meters high. But we will have to wait until the reopening on December 7 to hear it resonate.
After the visit, the president participated in the tribute to the 1,200 companions gathered on the square, coming from all trades (scrap workers, carpenters or glass specialists), who were able to enter, all smiles, into the cathedral to admire the result of their years of hard work.
