On April 15, 2019, a fire ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Images that marked and saddened the whole world. On April 16, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, promised its restoration and reopening in five years.
Here we are. In 2024, the collapsed spire of the monument is reassembled and the first mass is scheduled for December 8. A bet about to be met (the reopening date was planned for April 15, 2024) by a large-scale operation which required impressive resources for a monument which deserved no less. Summary in a few figures.
70,000 parts for the arrow scaffolding
She was one of the symbols of the cathedral. The spire of Notre-Dame de Paris designed in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc has been reconstructed identically. A masterpiece in solid oak wood covered with a lead roof and topped by the crown, the cross and the rooster, it required the installation of a scaffolding of 70,000 pieces for a weight of 600 tonnes.
Reflecting the scale of the overall project, the installation reached a height of 100 meters and included 48 levels closely intertwined with the framework.
1,000 artisans and 250 businesses
The right material is not enough for such a work as the reconstruction of the cathedral. Also more than a thousand craftsmen, journeymen and artists have worked or are still working on Notre-Dame de Paris. Stonemasons, carpenters, roofers, restorers, journeymen, stained glass workers, etc. On average, there were nearly 500 of them every day working on the Gothic church. A contingent that represents nearly 250 companies.
700 million euros
Such a project obviously entails commensurate costs. In total, it will have cost nearly 700 million euros. Just the first two years dedicated to securing the premises cost 150 million euros. Then, the repair and renovation work is billed for a little less than 550 million euros according to Philippe Jost, who succeeded General Georgelin, who died in 2023, at the head of the site.
Costs covered by the 846 million euros in donations collected around the world, around 150 of which must be used to restore exterior parts of the cathedral which were very eroded and affected by various stone pathologies before the fire.
Six contemporary stained glass windows
Luckily, the cathedral’s rose windows and stained glass windows were not broken or damaged by the 2019 fire. However, they all had to be cleaned. In December 2023, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron announced the holding of a competition to integrate six contemporary stained glass windows for certain chapels on the Seine side, but not before 2026.
Like the stained glass windows, the great organ (the largest in France) was spared by the fire but covered in lead dust. After cleaning, its 8,000 pipes were reassembled one by one. Its harmonization should last six months to restore its “voice” to Notre-Dame.
2 sarcophagi
As dramatic as it was, the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris was an opportunity for many scientists. Indeed, excavations were organized after the disaster and it was, for the researchers, the opportunity to explore the bowels of the cathedral which uncovered treasures. Materials specialists, art historians, acousticians, geologists, sociologists, nearly 200 experts from around fifty laboratories had a field day in the monument. In total, around thirty research articles were published in a special issue of Journal of cultural heritage.
For example, two sarcophagi whose inhabitants could even be partially identified.