Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral raises its head. 4 and a half years after its fire which had focused the eyes of the whole world on Paris, the Holy Place has found its spire, which stands again on the edge of the centuries-old nave. “Temporarily closed,” the place still says on Google, and what could be more temporary in the life of a building more than six centuries old than a four-year closure. But the doors will not be closed for long: the reopening of the cathedral is scheduled for December 8, 2024. A year before, on the morning of Friday December 8, 2023, the President of the Republic visited the site and congratulated the teams who have been working for four years, as well as the late General Georgelin, site manager who died last summer.
“It’s very moving to find yourself here,” declared the President of the Republic, climbing the thirty floors of scaffolding which lead to the summit at the top of the spire 100 meters high. “We are meeting deadlines,” he rejoiced. With the spire rebuilt, what are the next steps? The president announced during his visit an upcoming competition for the creation of “six contemporary stained glass windows”, a future marker of “the 21st century” in the restoration of the monument. Emmanuel Macron is also planning the installation of a museum dedicated to Notre-Dame de Paris at the Hôtel-Dieu, on the Île de la Cité. It will be “a museum of both history and art, and which will describe the permanent construction site of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and the Hôtel-Dieu. It will also unite the historical coherence of this site, of its vocation, and which will allow visitors to understand their history and its modifications over time”, underlined the Head of State. “The rooster which fell on April 15, 2019 will be there like the six stained glass windows which will be replaced”.
Many stained glass windows had been blackened and damaged by the heat of the flames of the 2019 fire, which devoured the roof and its “forest” (tangle of structural beams coming from 21 hectares of trees, Editor’s note). Four and a half years after the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, justice has not issued any indictment in the liability investigation into the causes of the disaster and the possible lead pollution caused. The accidental track remains favored, associated with failures of the safety system in place. The President of the Republic confirmed to France 2 that he had officially invited Pope Francis I, who was moved by the destruction of the building, to the reopening on December 8.
