Under a rainbow of colored pieces of glass, fourteen people work in this family workshop in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, of which Emmanuelle Andrieux, master glassmaker, now holds the reins.

A temple of stained glass where you restore as much as you create.

"From small to monumental, from a piece of glass in a stairwell to the dome of Galeries Lafayette," she says.

And, as in the days of cathedral builders, "always within the rules of the art".

“Lead has extraordinary properties. It is both very strong and very flexible, and can last for years, even centuries, without deteriorating,” says Emmanuelle Andrieux.

However, its use could eventually be prohibited, if it is included among the substances dangerous to health and the environment that the EU wishes to banish by 2030, listed by the "Reach" regulation.

"Collateral damage"

According to the WHO, "there is no threshold below which exposure to lead would not have harmful effects".

Lead poisoning, lead poisoning, kills almost a million people worldwide each year.

In the EU's sights: the vehicle battery industry, for which more than three quarters of the world's lead tonnage is destined.

But heritage trades, from stained glass artists to organ builders, would not be spared.

"We were clearly told that we were collateral damage", regrets Emmanuelle Andrieux.

This "enormous shortfall" would have "awful" consequences for the approximately 450 independent stained glass workshops in France, she warns, who are already subject to annual blood tests and wear protection to prevent occupational diseases.

The glass dome of Galeries Lafayette in Paris, September 15, 2018 © FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP/Archives

"It would signify the death of our profession, especially for those who have devoted themselves to catering", which still knows "no alternative".

From Notre-Dame de Paris to the Sainte-Chapelle, passing through a number of historic monuments, France is home to the largest area of ​​stained glass windows in the world, and 60% of the European stained glass heritage.

According to Emmanuelle Andrieux, only 15 to 20% have so far been restored.

In his workshop, the old damaged stained glass windows are meticulously operated, in the silence of a cathedral, on a backlit table that brings out colors and details.

A street further, in the basement, a stock of 18,000 m2 of glass panels is waiting to find a buyer.

Exception

For creation, there is another method: the "Tiffany".

Showing off a small contemporary blue stained glass window with finer joints than usual, the 42-year-old master glassmaker indicates, however, that "this technique is less solid, less architectural, and that it is not waterproof".

Copper tape, 60% tin... 40% lead solder.

"Switching to 100% tin would cost us at least three times as much. How then can we sell our stained glass windows?", she asks, when a customer is already paying between 1,000 and 4,500 euros per square meter.

For several months, certain politicians like Catherine Dumas, president of the Métiers d'art study group in the Senate, have been trying to "raise awareness" on the subject, with the government as well as in the European Parliament.

Purpose ?

That professions with "real know-how and a significant heritage fund benefit from an exemption", supports Senator LR, who speaks of a "matter of months" before the European Commission makes its proposal. revision, initially scheduled for the end of 2022.

"Let us also be given the means to do research to find an alternative", pleads Emmanuelle Andrieux, whose first claim is above all to "continue to live from (our) passion".

© 2023 AFP