The old lady of Paris has drawn a line under her ashes and her damaged frame. Its reopening was celebrated with great fanfare this Saturday, December 7. However, the causes of the fire which destroyed Notre-Dame in April 2019 still remain unknown. A mystery that leaves room for many theories.
On the set of CNews, the science journalist, Michel Chevalet, affirmed that “the file was closed very quickly with a dismissal of the case”. And even to add that it is now a “classified defense secret” investigation.
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Statements that did not fail to provoke a reaction from questioning Internet users. “I am convinced that one day, soon, this file will be declassified and that the people will finally be aware of the criminal nature of this fire,” wrote one of them.
Obviously, a file classified as defense secret sows doubt about the advanced versions, in particular of an electrical malfunction, or even a poorly extinguished cigarette butt…
FAKE OFF
The case of the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris is far from having been “closed very quickly by a dismissal”. And it was not classified as a defense secret either. “The judicial investigation is still in progress”, confirms the Paris prosecutor’s office to 20 Minutes, this Monday, December 9.
It all started on April 15, 2019. The fire started from the roof of the building, which is more than 850 years old. More precisely from the sandpit of the gutter wall of the choir at the south-east corner of the transept crossing, where restoration work was in progress. A preliminary investigation is immediately opened.
-It quickly emerged that some workers were smoking on the roof, despite the formal ban and the presence of electrical devices in the attic. The Paris public prosecutor at the time, Rémy Heitz, then estimated that there was no evidence to support the hypothesis of a criminal origin.
Unintentional damage
On June 26, 2019, and after two months of collecting evidence and expertise of all kinds, a judicial investigation was opened against
The investigations were then entrusted to three investigating judges. The analyzes continued, further ruling out the theory of arson.
The last expert assessment operations took place at the end of December 2022: the last residues of lead and rubble were collected in 21 “big bags” then analyzed. On July 6, 2023, the investigating judge authorized the unsealing of the area in which the fire broke out. Until then, only investigators could go there.
Finally, a transport to the site was carried out on March 6, 2024, in the presence of one of the investigating judges, investigators from the criminal brigade, and experts.
A 3D model of the flame to come
At the end of October this year, the prosecution told Ouest-France that the investigations were “in their home stretch”. Same story with BFMTV. com, who wrote, on the eve of the reopening of the cathedral: “The investigation into the causes of the fire which ravaged the cathedral on April 15, 2019 is about to be completed. » The prosecution affirms 20 Minutes that “all the expertise on the seals has been returned”. Also, at present “no one is indicted in this case”.
Next step: a 3D modeling of the flame “as it was filmed and photographed”. The objective being, once again, to understand what happened, and how the fire spread so quickly. The results obtained thanks to this new technology, in several months, will be compared with the conclusions already made according to other expertise.
“The use of the expertise will take several more months,” underlines the Paris prosecutor’s office. We will therefore still have to be patient to see the file on the Notre-Dame fire completed.
