A little more than five years after the fire that devastated it, in April 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral reveals its ” glow found », Friday November 29, thanks to a final site visit by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, eight days before its reopening with great fanfare, Saturday December 7.
The Head of State arrived around 10:30 a.m. on the square in front of the religious building, welcomed by the main Catholic religious representatives, elected officials and Parisian officials, as well as the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. While waiting for the imminent return of the public, it is through a stroll, broadcast live in the morning on several French and international channels, that the restored cathedral, or even partially rebuilt, is visible for the first time. “Even more beautiful than before, in the rediscovered radiance of the blondness of the stones and the color of the chapels”according to the President of the Republic.
For two hours, Mr. Macron must wander around for a route in around ten stages, from the square to the framework, via the nave, the transept crossing or even the Saint-Marcel chapel, the last site visit was designed to show the main achievements of this titanic project. At each stop, Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron, and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, will speak with some of the people who worked to rebuild the building.
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All 2,000 people who contributed to the work have been invited, of whom at least 1,300 are expected to be present. Among them, the Belgian architect and landscaper Bas Smets, who designed the new square, Guillaume Bardet, the designer, who created the new liturgical furniture, Jean-Louis Bidet, one of the carpenters, Marie Pouliot and Marie Parant, restorers of mural painting, or Pascal Prunet, chief architect of historic monuments. Patrons will also be in the spotlight, while the construction project of the century, which cost some 700 million euros, was financed exclusively by donations.
“This final site visit is an opportunity to thank them in particular, from wood craftsmen to metal and stone craftsmen, from scaffolders to roofers, from campanists to art restorers, from gilders to masons and sculptors, from carpenters to organ builders, architects, archaeologists, engineers and planners to logistical or administrative functions”said Emmanuel Macron.
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Reopening with great fanfare on December 7
In presenting this visit to the press, the Elysée did not skimp on superlatives, using the word no less than twenty times ” glow “. “Wonder”vue “striking”, “fireworks of colors” : presidential advisers have promised a breathtaking spectacle, and a striking contrast to the “yawning vault”THE “calcined waste” and the smell ” intolerable “ that Emmanuel Macron discovered on the evening of the fire, April 15, 2019.
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Broadcast around the world, the fire, the causes of which have still not been determined, caused a wave of global emotion. The President of the Republic then committed to reopening in five years, arousing some skepticism at the time. Those around him are pleased today that « l’impossible a[it] was made possible ». The flames had notably ravaged the roof and the frame of this masterpiece of 12th century Gothic art.e century, which is among the most visited monuments in Europe. The spire of Viollet-le-Duc, which collapsed from a height of 93 meters, was reconstructed identically.
First photos from the Magnum agency were published Friday by The Parisianand an unofficial video circulated on X, reposted by billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the social network.
The public will still have to wait a good week to access the cathedral. The Head of State will speak again on Saturday, December 7, before an indoor liturgical ceremony for the official reopening, a prelude to the inaugural mass celebrated on December 8. The head of state has invited a large number of foreign leaders for its reopening, in the hope of making it an international event, but the list of those present is not yet known. To the great regret of the Elysée, Pope Francis preferred to go to Corsica a week later rather than to Paris.
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