“Come and see the stones of Notre-Dame!

General Georgelin, president of the public establishment (EP) in charge of the site, visited the Oise quarry on Wednesday 13 April.

Despite rainy weather and muddy ground, journalists, technical directors and quarry workers were there.

"It's moving to be at the root"

It was under the sign of emotion that the visit carried out with an iron fist by the general took place.

After the phases of securing consolidation, procurement, adaptation to plans, etc.

The reconstruction is on.

Jean-Louis Georgelin added that: "It's very moving because in fact we have a direct thread with Notre-Dame".

For the Horchole family, which runs the Saint-Pierre-Aigle quarry and factory at the same time, where the stones are washed, it is a point of pride.

Son Fabien Horchole said: “We don't do 50 construction sites like that, I will remember it until the end of my days.

“Same speech for the father, Jean-François Horchole:” We are proud to work for Notre-Dame.

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A dense construction site

The fire destroyed 15% of the vaults of the cathedral, 150 m3 of new stones are therefore expected.

The hard stones necessary for the reconstruction of these parts of the cathedral will be delivered by the quarry of the Horchole family.

Fabien told us that: "it's dense, for our normal activity because we remain a small career".

However, the Horchole men had prepared themselves.

They had started to extract the stones before being selected for the Notre-Dame project.

The particularity of this site is that the contract is signed directly between the public establishment and the quarry to secure the supply.

Normally, it is the stone cutters who buy the raw material, which they then invoice to the client.

The other particularity is that it is a construction site which concerns France.

"It's not a Parisian project but one for the whole of France", explains Jean-Louis Georgelin.

No worries for 2024

For the general at the head of the site, the question of the deadline is crucial.

He assures that the cathedral will be returned to Catholic worship definitively before December 31, 2024. To respect this objective, he monitors the slightest progress of the site "by reminding people that this is an objective and that we are not not here to sleep.

After having gone to the Hérault for the restoration of the great organ, to Mayenne for the sawing of the oaks, here he is in the Oise to supervise the extraction of the stones.

Jean-Louis Georgelin wants to be confident because from 2020 the EP had commissioned the BRGM for the selection of stones.

He refutes any correlation between the speed of the site and a potential job poorly done.

The next step for Notre-Dame is the scaffolding for the spire which should be seen in the sky of Paris in early 2023. The reconstruction of the Viollet-le-Duc building should be completed in early 2024 .

  • Culture

  • Notre Dame de Paris

  • Notre-Dame de Paris fire

  • Paris

  • Ile-de-France

  • 20 minute video