Europe 1 9:41 p.m., September 18, 2021
The phase of securing and consolidating Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, devastated more than two years ago by a fire, has come to an end, now giving way to the restoration phase.
Philippe Jost, deputy director of the public establishment responsible for its restructuring, was delighted at the microphone of Europe 1. The first works will be launched "this winter".
The work to secure and consolidate the cathedral began on April 16, 2019, the day after the fire.
The cathedral is now fully secure.
Invited to the microphone of Europe 1, Philippe Jost returned to all the tasks carried out over the past two years.
Without forgetting to mention the objective of the reopening of Notre-Dame, set for 2024.
The vaults can no longer fall
"All we have done for two years is to consolidate what needs to be done, is to secure the vaults," he explained.
"For example, we have raised scaffolding and installed wooden hangers which are large structures that apply under the vaults, which can therefore no longer fall."
The goal ?
Save the monument while ensuring the workers of the site of the conditions of safety for their work.
Objective to reopen in 2024
"It is a step taken", welcomed Philippe Jost.
"And a hedge hides another. The next is to ensure the good start of the work by carrying out these calls for tenders to choose the companies that will carry out the masonry and structural work".
Philippe Jost has already his eyes riveted on the finish line: the reopening of the cathedral in 2024. "We are all braced on this objective which is our horizon line and which does not leave us", explains t -he.
As a reminder, Emmanuel Macron had promised that the building would be rebuilt in five years.
The site should not be finished within this period but a mass will be celebrated there on April 26, 2024, exactly five years after the fire.