Five years after the fire | Notre-Dame, emblem of Paris, ready to reopen

(Paris) The fire which had ravaged it had dismayed the whole world. The collapse of its spire, to the cries of onlookers, signaled the loss of an international jewel. Five years later, however, Notre-Dame has regained its familiar silhouette and the emblem of Paris will receive its first visitors on December 7.

The feeling of loss seemed infinite in the face of the flames which on April 15, 2019 devoured one of the largest cathedrals in the West, which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Construction of the Gothic building with its impressive gargoyles began in the Middle Ages. In the current state of knowledge, the date chosen for the start of the work is 1163. The project was spread over two centuries, until 1345.

But five years of a titanic project, which mobilized 250 companies, hundreds of craftsmen and cost a total of nearly 700 million euros – financed by 846 million euros in donations from 150 countries – made it possible to resurrect Notre-Dame from its ashes.

Arrow rebuilt identically

Symbol of the renewal of the cathedral, the spire, which had collapsed before the stunned eyes of Parisians and millions of viewers around the world, rises again into the sky, identical to that of the 19th century architect^e century Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

If cranes still sit above the Parisian jewel, which also retains scaffolding in places, the extraordinary construction site is nearing its end, the public establishment which supervises it confirmed to AFP.

On the square, tourists, still kept at a distance behind fences topped with barbed wire in places, flock daily to try to see the latest exterior works, including the laying of a new pavement of limestone slabs in front of the large main gate. .

Notre-Dame welcomed 12 million visitors in 2017. The diocese and the public establishment expect to receive “14 to 15 million” after the reopening, which will be accompanied by new signage, a plan redesigned circulation system and an online reservation system.

The idea of ​​charging tourists for entry was launched in October by the French government, reigniting the debate in the country on the financing of religious heritage.

When visitors enter the cathedral, faithful and visitors will discover a refined central axis, brand new minimalist liturgical furniture in brown bronze, a contemporary reliquary wall in cedar wood and glass blocks forming a halo and housing the crown of thorns of Christ, and a cathedral luminous as never before, of which AFP was able to have a glimpse a few months ago.

The walls, clogged by fire and time, have regained the blondness of their stones. The stained glass windows, which were not damaged during the fire, were cleaned and restored, revealing their vibrant colors like the painted decorations of the chapels created by Viollet-le-Duc which contrast with the black and white checkerboard floor.

The public will also rediscover the great restored “mays”, these altar paintings commissioned each year from great artists, between 1630 and 1707 by the corporation of goldsmiths who offered them to the cathedral.

The building, which found its eight bells, was to welcome on Thursday the one which was at the Stade de France during the Paris Games.

Literary monument

As for the ceremony planned for the reopening, which Pope Francis, once expected, will ultimately not attend, few details have so far filtered out.

The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, announced that President Emmanuel Macron would speak in the cathedral on December 7 and that it would include an “awakening of the organ”, which was “completely dismantled, cleaned and put back in working order.”

A mass will take place on December 8 in the cathedral to consecrate the new altar. It will be followed by several other services to thank all those who contributed to the restoration of the cathedral.

Exceptional news for a monument that has entered literature. Under the pen of the writer Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris constituted a character in its own right between Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bell ringer, Esmeralda, the gypsy temptress and the priest Frollo.

The eponymous novel, published in 1831, then inspired Walt Disney to create a cartoon before becoming a musical in the 1990s which enjoyed enormous success in the French-speaking world. Making a little more of Notre-Dame, emblem of Paris, a heritage shared throughout the world.