A major renovation project will begin in November at Mont-Saint-Michel.

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Jean-Marc David / SIPA

From November 2, a major restoration which should last two and a half years will begin on the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, announced the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN).

This restoration is carried out because of a "significant sanitary degradation of the building", with "an alteration of the stone as well as water infiltration", notes the CMN in a press release.

The roof and facades are concerned.

“Certain parts are in fact covered with a very dense layer of lichen and moss, substantial surfaces of facing are disintegrating and the slates of the roofs - almost 150 years old - must be changed,” adds the CMN.

A facelift at seven million euros

To carry out this project, with a budget of nearly seven million euros, it will be necessary to erect scaffolding of a height equivalent to that of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to restore some 8,000 m2 of the building's facades.

An elevator will even be installed along the facade in order to access the upper levels of the site more quickly, where around thirty companions will work.

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey, which reopened on June 15 after a closure linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, will remain open to the public during the restoration.

Another renovation

"The work will be carried out by Degaine, a subsidiary of VINCI Construction France, specializing in the restoration of buildings classified or registered in the inventory of historic monuments", specified the CMN.

The Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, which welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors in 2019, has been the subject of several restoration campaigns in recent years, including the statue of the Archangel Saint-Michel ( 2016) or the cloister (2017).

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