Supported by a crane, delicately steered, in small jerks so as not to damage it, one of the parts of the barrel of the future spire of Notre-Dame de Paris will fit into the rest of the structure, mounted "blank" only a few tens of meters from the workshop where all the pieces of wood of the complex frame are designed, in Lorraine.

"It's incredible, you realize," said General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in charge of supervising the reconstruction of the cathedral. All eyes are on the piece, which fits perfectly into the structure already partially assembled.

This piece, raised in the air and laid with precision, weighs alone nearly a ton. Each part of the barrel, taken in isolation, is fragile. But "once everything is assembled, it's very rigid," says Patrick Jouenne, spoiler (responsible for the site) of the reconstruction of the spire of Notre-Dame.

"Giving the best"

Before the spectacular phase of assembly of these elements composing the future spire, an ant work was carried out, partly "invisible", with many studies.

The plans, extremely complex, were presented by engineers, architects, and other trades involved in this preliminary research, which must also take into account the retraction of the wood, over time.

"All the nodes, all the geometries are different" and therefore require the creation of hundreds of assembly plans, says Soline Pierrat-Bonneval, an engineer at Etude framing et structure bois, an engineering office. A thousand calculation points were also made to create "a digital twin" of the original arrow, according to a spokesman.

More than 1,600 calculation combinations made it possible to anticipate all events that could affect the barrel, such as snow or wind.

Carpenters adjust the frame of the first floor of the spire of Noter-Dame de Paris, during a blank assembly, July 20, 2023 in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle © Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP

Then, in this large warehouse entirely dedicated to the construction site in Briey, dozens of carpenters are working, plans before their eyes, to work precisely with wood. An "honor", a "chance", and especially "a lot of pride", for Clément Leyris, one of them.

"We perpetuate a tradition, we participate in the restoration of one of the most beautiful French monuments. There is pressure, you have to give yourself, learn and give the best of yourself," Lucien Monchablon, another carpenter, told AFP.

"Halfway point"

"We are about halfway through", in the reconstruction of the spire of Notre-Dame, wanted identical to that originally thought in the nineteenth century by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, rejoiced in front of the press and local elected officials one of the spokespersons of the site. The reconstruction of the spire began last March.

Once the barrel is completely mounted "blank", in this test phase in Lorraine, it will be dismantled and transported by truck to Paris, where it will be reconstituted on the Notre-Dame site.

Once completed, the spire will weigh "about 370 tons" and will measure 53 meters high, above the walls, Patrick Jouenne told AFP.

Last March, the stool, the lower part of the spire, was also mounted "blank". He measures "5.50 m below the walls, so it's about 59 meters high", in total, he noted.

For General Jean-Louis Georgelin, "at the end of the year, we will see the spire in the sky of Paris and we will see the farms placed, both on the transepts, the nave and the choir, and finally we will find the silhouette of the cathedral".

A plan of the frame of the spire of Noter-Dame de Paris is displayed in the company that builds it, July 20, 2023 in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle © Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP

The latter could reopen at the end of 2024. It will be a "success that surpasses us all (...) This will be the success of the France," said General Jean-Louis Georgelin.

© 2023 AFP