Notre-Dame: four years after the fire, top start for the reconstruction of the spire

Europe 1 with AFP 14:11 p.m., April 13, 2023

Four years after the fire that ravaged it, Notre-Dame de Paris will be able to find its spire, collapsed with part of its frame, which should rise again in the sky of Paris at the end of the year. Identical to the previous one, designed by the nineteenth-century architect Viollet-Le-Duc and culminating at 96 meters high with its copper statues, it must be rebuilt with the original materials, oak wood for the structure (220 tons) and lead for the roof and ornaments (140 tons).

The laying of the base of the spire completed on Saturday

"The installation of the stool of the spire", a base of 80 tons consisting of a clever assembly of oak parts, made in Lorraine, "will be completed Saturday", four years to the day after the fire, according to the public establishment in charge of the restoration site. The reopening to the public of the masterpiece of Gothic art is still planned "in December 2024", after the Summer Olympics in Paris, he confirms.

The stool will rest 30 m above the ground on the four pillars of the transept crossing, in the heart of the cathedral. The diagonal ashlar arches of this crossing have already been rebuilt. Scaffolding with a floor installed at 26 meters high will gradually climb to culminate at 100 meters in the final phase of the reconstruction of the spire.

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On April 15, 2019, the images of Notre-Dame on fire and its spire collapsing with its frame and part of its vaults had moved the whole world, triggering an unprecedented wave of solidarity (846 million euros in donations from 340,000 donors).

In the cathedral under construction, as in the art workshops of the companions, "restoration work is in full swing", after two years devoted in particular to securing the building. Inside, the simultaneous cleaning of walls, painted decorations and vaults, with an area of 42,000 m2, is well "advanced", according to the public institution.

Great Organ

The resting of the great organ, cleaned and restored by three workshops in Corrèze, Hérault and Vaucluse, has begun. Its 8,000 pipes will be reassembled one by one. It was not damaged by the flames or by the water used by firefighters but was covered with lead dust. The stained glass windows of the 39 high bays of the nave, choir and transept, as well as the stained glass windows of the sacristy, have also been cleaned and restored.

Since November and until the end of the year, stonemasons gradually raise the collapsed walls and vaults. The repair of the medieval frames is also underway. Five artist-designers are to present to the diocese a "coherent" project for the liturgical furniture, which must be rejuvenated. The winner will be announced this summer. The archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, wants "an educational and spiritual journey" that is "not the equivalent of a museum".

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Heritage experts have given the green light to a clean central axis and the presence of contemporary art. They had opposed benches with candles, also discarded by Bishop Ulrich in favor of chairs.

The surroundings of Notre-Dame, whose redevelopment is the responsibility of the City of Paris, should gain in purity and greening, with a group of specialists selected in June, including the Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets. A judicial investigation is still underway to try to determine the causes of the fire, while a judge is also investigating lead pollution.

The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, announced Tuesday the acceleration of a plan to secure French cathedrals, with an investment of 220 million euros by the end of 2023 to restore and secure 87 of them.