The spire, which will measure 58 meters high like its nineteenth-century model, consists of five parts, including "the stool", its base on four supports made of exceptional oak, which alone weighs 80 tons.

"For four months, we have traced and validated the plans, then traced the spurs on the ground according to the ancestral method of stitching and lineage. And today, the lifting team interweaves these pieces of wood, extraordinary in their dimensions, one in the other, "appreciates Patrick Jouenne, responsible for carpenters.

"It's the construction site of a lifetime," he continues. "This reconstruction is a masterpiece."

The stool, once mounted blank in Briey (Merthe et Moselle), will be reassembled before being transported to Paris to be reassembled on the roof of the building.

Appointed by Emmanuel Macron to lead the restoration of Notre-Dame, General Jean-Louis Georgelin is pleased to see that "the commitment made in terms of deadlines will be kept, with patience and tenacity. The reputation of the France is at stake!"

"Soon we will see in the sky of Paris the arrow and its rooster," he adds. "Delivery of the stool is scheduled for April 15, 2023, four years after the fire."

The famous spire, identical to the previous one designed by the architect Viollet-le-Duc and which had collapsed in the fire of April 15, 2019, "should appear again in the sky of Paris by the end of the year," said in early February the public establishment project owner of the reconstruction site.

Carpenters assemble the "stool", i.e. the base on which the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris will rest, during a rehearsal on March 16, 2023 in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle © Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP

It will also culminate at 96 meters from the ground, with the same original materials, oak for the structure (500 tons) and lead for the roof and ornaments (250 tons).

The construction of the spire will begin on the site as soon as the four ashlar arches that make up the vault of the transept crossing, in the heart of the cathedral, have been rebuilt.

The cathedral is scheduled to reopen in late 2024, according to the Ministry of Culture.

© 2023 AFP