Five years after the fire which ravaged the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, it is about to reopen its doors to the general public. The opportunity to take stock of this dizzying work.
Images of the restored Notre-Dame de Paris went around the world this Friday. Before the official reopening to the general public on December 8, French President Emmanuel Macron made a final visit to the site, paying tribute to the 1,300 people who participated in the work. In 2019, Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild Notre-Dame in 5 years, and they kept their word. This was also made possible thanks to the 340,000 donors, who raised more than 846 million euros.
Impressive figures
The restoration required immense efforts, both human and technical. First, an impressive 100 meter high scaffolding was erected to restore the spire. The installation of scaffolders, crane operators and rope access workers required 70,000 parts, for a total weight of 600 tonnes.
The new spire was rebuilt according to plans by Eugène Viollet-Le Duc and peaks at 93 meters in height.
Another impressive figure: 2,000 oak trees were needed to rebuild the frames, respecting 13th century methods.
The cathedral organ, which survived the fire, had to be dismantled to clean its 8,000 pipes, which were then reassembled one by one.
The bells of Notre-Dame, weighing nearly 17 tons in total, were reinstalled.
After 5 years of intensive work, it is estimated that around 2,000 people contributed to the restoration of the cathedral, whether in Paris or in other regions of France. In all, nearly 250 companies and art workshops were mobilized for this immense undertaking.
Find “You are in the newspaper”, Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on bel RTL with Peggy Simono and Thibaut Roland.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris mobility renovation
