Notre-Dame-de-Paris: stonemasons, sculptors… these artisans from Occitanie took part in the titanic construction site of the cathedral

“The most beautiful construction site of the century”. Emmanuel Macron shared his pride with the main players in the restoration of Notre-Dame-de-Paris, this Friday, November 29 in the morning. The head of state strolled through the interior of the building, partly restored and rebuilt. “It is both repaired, reinvented and rebuilt,” noted Emmanuel Macron. After the fire of April 15, 2019, the grandiose project lasted 5 years, 7 months and 14 days. 2000 “contributors” were mobilized for the work.

Also read:
Notre-Dame de Paris: discover the magnificent images of the renovated cathedral after its fire in 2019

Pyrenees wood in the arrow

Several artisans and companions from Occitanie have put their know-how at the service of Notre-Dame-de-Paris. Part of the wood for the cathedral's spire comes from three oak trees felled in Ariège. Trees aged at least 150 years come from Fougax-et-Barrineuf. Felled and cut at the Courrent sawmill, they were sawed into 11 pieces of 2.50 m and delivered to the site carpenters to serve as intermediate rafters. This wood had been blessed by the parish priest of Lavelanet before his departure for Paris.

Also read:
Three 150-year-old Ariège oaks felled to restore Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral

Three other oaks, this time from the Hautes-Pyrénées, were used at Notre-Dame. They were offered by Denis Barré, forester in Campuzan, and sawed by Philippe Abadie to the standards required for the site. As in Ariège, the oaks were blessed by the priest of Galan before leaving for the capital.

Also read:
Hautes-Pyrénées: three oaks from the Abadie sawmill will be used in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris

Stonemasons from Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne has also done its part. The heritage masonry and stone cutting company Dagand Atlantique mobilized 15 tailors. They took turns in groups of 5 to clean the lead drips on the stones of the cathedral, change the roofing slabs and work window by window. “The teams are very proud to work on an extraordinary site which resembles an anthill where hundreds of craftsmen meet. It’s a magnificent experience to live in a quarry,” explained director Florent Damiani to The Dispatch in January 2023.

Also read:
The Tarn-et-Garonnaise company Dagand is participating in the reconstruction project of Notre-Dame de Paris

Sculptors from Aveyron

Sculptors from Occitanie also participated in the renovation work. This is the case of the Vermorel company in Salles-la-Source (Aveyron). Its employees restored sculptures on the gables of the north and south arms of the transept of Notre-Dame-de-Paris. 70 to 100% of the sculptures had to be redone under the direction of the chief architect of Historical Monuments. Vermorel worked in co-contracting with another company from Occitanie, the Jean-Loup Bouvier workshop in Les Angles in Gard, and a company from Val-de-Marne. “As a sculptor and stonemason, it’s motivating for the teams,” Valmorel manager Quentin Muller told The Dispatch in October 2023. Vermorel will be awarded the “Notre-Dame diploma”, attesting to the high quality of his skills.

Also read:
A little bit of Aveyron in Notre-Dame de Paris

Axes from the Gers

Cécile Bouisset can also be proud of having worked for the site. This young blacksmith from the Les Frappantes workshop in Vic-Fezensac (Gers) participated, with other craftsmen, in making axes for carpenters to enable them to make medieval frames for the choir and the nave.

Also read:
Notre-Dame de Paris: Gersoise Cécile Bouisset forged axes to reconstruct the framework

A Commingeoise restoring paintings

Marie Godot is one of the Occitans who put their skills at the service of Notre-Dame. This 26-year-old history and heritage enthusiast, who grew up near Luchon (Haute-Garonne), and who studied at the Sorbonne, participated in the restoration of two large paintings during an internship in a prestigious Parisian workshop: “The Preaching of Saint-Pierre in Jerusalem” by Charles Poerson and “The Conversion of Saint-Paul” by Laurent de La Hyre. “It was prestigious and gratifying to make a contribution to the building. Conserving and restoring this building and these paintings means participating in the transmission of the memory of this immense monument,” explained Marie Godot to The Dispatch in November.

Hérault residents for the repair of the organ

The Languedoc Manufacture of large organs of Lodève (Hérault) is one of the workshops called upon to provide its know-how on the 1867 Cavaillé-Coll organ of Notre-Dame, with two other craftsmen from the heritage of Vaucluse and Corrèze. The Notre-Dame instrument includes 8,000 pipes, some of which are almost 10 m high, made of tin and lead alloys. Moreover, one of the three organists Philippe Lefebvre lives in Montreal, a small village between Castelnaudary and Carcassonne, in Aude.

Also read:
The organist of Notre-Dame de Paris lives in Aude: “I am devastated, it’s a personal suffering”

Other craftsmen from Occitania who worked on the site: the Molinelli ironworks company in Gard for the restoration of the stained glass windows and for the restoration of the decorations the Groupement Marie Parant Andaloro in Haute-Garonne and Laura Serafini in Hérault.

A lifting company from Gers

In 5 years, a multitude of materials had to be transported to the cathedral construction site. To bring all the necessary elements to the roofs of the building, the Gers company Dartus Levage was called upon. It specializes in lifting materials to exceptional heights. It was Dartus Levage who hoisted the spire and the golden rooster to the top of the cathedral.

Also read:
Notre-Dame de Paris: the Gers company Dartus Levage hoisted the spire and the golden rooster to the top of the cathedral

“You have shown the world that nothing resists audacity”, “it is an immense pride for the entire Nation”, said Emmanuel Macron to the wood, metal and stone craftsmen, scaffolders and roofers, campanists, gilders, sculptors and even architects. Patrons were also in the spotlight. The construction project of the century cost some 700 million euros, and was financed exclusively by donations.

Also read:
Notre-Dame de Paris: date of its reopening, opening hours, reservation required… Everything you need to know before visiting the cathedral

Emmanuel Macron must speak again, this time on the square in front of Notre-Dame, on December 7, in the presence of several foreign leaders. A first mass will be celebrated on Sunday, December 8.