The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, destroyed by a fire last April, is entering a dangerous stage as engineers re-prepare to remove scaffolding in a move that could lead to further collapse.
The church’s roof collapsed and the upper part of its tower fell in the fire that erupted on April 15, but the main bell towers, the outer walls, and a large portion of the convex ceiling survived the fire along with religious artifacts and artwork.
After the first birthday without a mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in more than two centuries, work resumed today, Thursday, to prepare the site for a years-long reconstruction process scheduled to begin in 2021.
And engineering teams brought a giant crane operating about 75 meters above the partially destroyed cathedral.
Beginning in February, the first delicate task will be to remove 250 tons of damaged scaffolding that had been installed for restoration and renovation work planned before the fire, without causing this medieval convex ceiling to fall.
"We do not know how this will affect the stability of the building's structure," a spokeswoman for the parish in Paris told the Catholic Church, which includes Notre-Dame.
One of the most important historical monuments in Paris is monitored using dozens of sensors, cracks and laser beams to detect any initial signs of the building’s crack, so that workers can be evacuated quickly and damage is minimized.
"We know from the start that there is a degree of danger that no one can realistically identify ... the partial collapse of the convex ceiling is a possibility that cannot be excluded," the diocese spokeswoman said.