5 years after the fire, the first images of Notre-Dame de Paris

“We will rebuild the cathedral even more beautiful and I want it to be completed within five years.” This was the objective of President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron in April 2019, when the cathedral caught fire.

The Head of State made this Friday, November 29 a final visit to the Notre-Dame construction site, avant its reopening with great fanfare on Saturday December 7. The president, his advisors and the Élysée, promise in a press release, “a stunning spectacle” during the broadcast of the first images this Friday.

“Amazement”, “striking” view, “fireworks of colors”… There is no shortage of promises, with a breathtaking spectaclewhich should contrast with the “gaping vault”, the “charred waste” and the “unbearable” smell that there was after the fire.

The images of the spire of Viollet-le-Duc, collapsing in the flames from the height of its 93 meters, had gone around the world and social networks. This was reconstructed identically.

This Friday morning, the Head of State published a video with the first official images of Notre-Dame de Paris.

During the reconstruction work, the stones of the cathedral have regained their whiteness and shinecleaned of centuries of dirt.

The visit of the Head of State took place in several stages, around ten, from the cathedral square to the frame.

At each stop, the President of the Republic and his wife were accompanied by the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich. They spoke with those who worked for the reconstruction “titanic” of the monument.

After the cathedral square, the presidential couple entered inside Notre-Dame.

The president's entourage specifies that “the impossible was made possible”. Environ 2,000 people contributed to the work.

“This final site visit is the opportunity to thank them more particularly” affirmed Emmanuel Macron in the press release.

The visit continued up high, under the frame of the building. An architectural feat reproduced identically, in record time, thanks to ancestral techniques and the know-how of numerous artisans.

At the level of the frame, also called “the Forest”, a fire-fighting device was installed to prevent another catastrophe. In the event of a fire, a thick mist will start to smother the flames.

1,200 French oaks were necessary to rebuild the frame. L'National Forestry Office (ONF) was asked to select these trees with the carpenters.

The visitors then went back down towards the north of the cathedral, to contemplate the murals of the choir enclosure, completely restored identically. A stop for highlight the arts and crafts.

Emmanuel Macron also went through the 29 chapels inside Notre-Dame, which have also all been restored.

A stop in front of the “Treasure” was carried out. This work was miraculously saved from the fire in 2019. It has been on display at the Louvre Museum since. She finds her place today. The work includes in particular Christ's crown of thorns, as well as pieces of his cross.

Last major stop of this visit, the great organ, symbol of the cathedral. He had been covered in dust and damaged following the fire. It has been refurbished. He can again resonate on December 7 for reopening to the general public.

Once the visit was over, the President of the Republic held a speech before the companions who worked on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame.

The public will still have to wait a good week to access the cathedral. On December 7, the head of state will speak again, this time on the square, before a liturgical ceremony inside for the official reopening, before the inaugural mass celebrated on December 8.

The cathedral will then be open every day, until 10 p.m. the first week.