INTERVIEW
"Things started yesterday, and formally today, with these 'squirrels', or rope access technicians, who descend, armed with saber saws," explains Christophe Rousselot. Guest of Europe 1, Tuesday evening, the general delegate of the Notre-Dame Foundation detailed the new stage of the construction site of the cathedral, more than a year after the fire which ravaged the building classified as world heritage of l 'humanity. That of "cutting", delicate operation of dismantling the scaffolding of the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris, distorted by the heat of the fire.
In total, 40,000 tubes will be cut and then taken by a 44-meter crane, "the highest in Europe", specifies Christophe Rousselot, before being placed in a grab "because polluted by lead".
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Work may continue after reopening of the nave
The site should have started earlier, but was disrupted by several events, adds the general delegate of the Notre-Dame Foundation. "The bad weather, lead pollution and the health crisis of the Covid-19", he lists. Constraints that delayed the "cutting", this operation "very carefully prepared", by a few weeks.
This delay should not have a significant impact on the date of reopening of the cathedral. It "will certainly be reopened in 2024", hopes Christophe Rousselot. "But the restoration of the cathedral, the facelift, the blackened stone, will take more time than that", he adds, adding that the works can continue after having reopened the nave to the public. "The highest part, the transept, and the choir can be cut off from the rest so that the work can continue."
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