Paris. Five years after a devastating fire, the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral is nearing completion as the eyes of the world turn to Paris for the Olympic Games.
On the afternoon of April 15, 2019, the roof of the cathedral was consumed by flames, which quickly engulfed the spire and nearly toppled the main bell towers. Around the world, television viewers watched in horror as the medieval building burned.
Macron, whose second and final term ends in 2027, wants the cathedral’s restoration to lift the nation’s spirits and his government’s approval ratings.
“Only once in a century are Olympic and Paralympic Games organized, only once in a millennium is a cathedral rebuilt,” Macron said in his 2024 New Year’s speech.
It is still unclear what exactly caused the fire. French authorities have said an electrical fault or a lit cigarette may have been responsible.
“A firefighter told me, ‘Lord, take a good look at the façade because if we don’t put out that fire, everything will be ruined,'” recalled Patrick Chauvet, the former senior parish priest of Notre-Dame.
The façade resisted, but the damage required five years of intense stabilization and restoration works.
The pride of those working on the project shines with its own light.
“It is the work of my life, because restoring an entire monument in all its three-dimensionality is something exceptional,” declared Emma Roux, an artisan who works on the iconic stained glass windows.
The reopening is scheduled for December, and at the moment the schedule is being met, according to the official who directs the project.
“We are on time and on budget,” Philippe Jost declared last month in an appearance before the Senate.
Jost told lawmakers that the project had cost 550 million euros ($587 million) so far, financed in part by massive donations, including those from luxury billionaires François Henri Pinault and the Arnault family. So much money has been donated that there will even be funds left over for new investments in the building, he said.
“If our patrons approve it, they will be used to restore the cathedral and resolve pre-fire issues, which primarily affect the exterior masonry,” Jost added.
Jost, 63, an engineer by training who spent much of his career in the Defense Ministry, took over after his predecessor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, died in a hiking accident in August 2023.
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– 2024-04-13 06:10:12
