The eight bells of the north belfry of Notre-Dame de Paris, which is preparing to reopen on December 7, rang out on Friday, more than five years after the fire which ravaged the cathedral, noted AFP.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., the bells rang out one by one, activated by motors, until they formed a harmonious ballet, according to AFP journalists on site.
“It’s a beautiful, important, symbolic step,” greeted Philippe Jost, head of the public establishment responsible for the restoration of the cathedral, who also attended this premiere.
“All the bells together, it’s the first time” since the fire of April 2019, he stressed, less than a month before the reopening of the cathedral.
“Everything is not perfect yet. We are going to resolve this perfectly but this first attempt is conclusive,” declared, moved, Alexandre Gougeon, from the Gougeon company, project manager for the refitting of the bells for the ATC group, welcoming “a great outcome”. Individual bell-by-bell tests were conducted on Thursday.
This sound signal marks a further step in the resurrection of one of the largest cathedrals in the West, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, and one of the most visited monuments in Europe.
During the fire of April 15, 2019, the flames reached part of the north belfry of the building, which had to be restored. To do this, the eight bells housed in this tower were carefully removed, cleaned of lead dust and restored before returning to their original setting.
From “Gabriel”, and its more than four tonnes, to the smallest “Jean-Marie” (approximately 800 kg), named in homage to Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005, these eight bells bear the name of personalities who have marked the life of the diocese and the Church.
They returned to Notre-Dame in mid-September during a small ceremony and were blessed on the occasion.
