After five years of restoration, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral will finally be unveiled to viewers around the world on November 29, during President Macron's last visit to the construction site, and not on December 7, the day of its official inauguration, in the presence numerous heads of state and guests.
The President of the Republic invited to this morning of November 29 700 companions, craftsmen, business leaders, architects, members of the public establishment Rebâtir Notre-Dame and patrons, whom he will thank with a speech in the cathedral for the great job done.
Emmanuel Macron will take the opportunity to make a ten-stage tour of the restored monument, from the nave to the choir via the chapels and the new framework under the roofs. It will be followed by a pool of photographers and cameramen from France Télévisions whose images will be broadcast live on France 2, TV5 Monde and mondovision on CNN and numerous channels around the world.
The announcement of the winner of the stained glass competition postponed
Originally, no images of the interior of the cathedral were to leak outside before the official inauguration on December 7. However, bickering broke out between the Élysée and the diocese over the organization of this ceremony, over the number of guests of the President of the Republic, over the location and duration of his speech (ultimately planned on the square and not in the cathedral), before the awakening of the organ and vespers, the inaugural mass celebrated by Mgr Ulrich being scheduled for Sunday December 8.
Little by little, the idea of a less formal visit by the President of the Republic to Notre-Dame seems to have emerged on the side of the Élysée from November 29, to meet all those involved in the construction site, then the retransmission of this event live on television. A way ultimately for the Head of State to ensure the first of the unveiling of the restored cathedral.
Another last minute turnaround: the choice of the winner responsible for creating six contemporary stained glass windows in the chapels on the south aisle will be announced after the reopening of the cathedral but a priori before Christmas, according to information from The Cross. Initially, a model of these stained glass windows was to be unveiled at Notre-Dame de Paris at the time of reopening.
The artistic commission, meeting on the morning of November 21, 2024, selected from the last eight finalists, two or three names from which the Archbishop of Paris and the President of the Republic must choose the winner. However, faced with strong criticism surrounding this stained glass project intended to replace listed grisaille glass roofs, designed by Viollet-le-Duc, it was agreed to postpone this announcement so as not to spoil the reopening ceremonies with a final controversy.
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