It has disappeared from the landscape since the fire of April 15, 2019, which remains in everyone’s memory. The “familiar silhouette” of the spire of Notre-Dame will be visible in the sky of Paris “before Christmas”, we learned on Friday from the public establishment responsible for supervising its reconstruction project. “The project is progressing well and the solid oak structure or framework of the spire will be completed in December. Its familiar silhouette should peak again at 96 meters above the ground before Christmas,” said the same source.
The spire, identical to the previous one, designed by the 19th century architect Viollet-Le-Duc, and which collapsed during the fire, will however remain surrounded by the scaffolding which was used to assemble this structure. It “will be used for the installation of its cover and its lead ornaments in 2024,” added the establishment. At the same time, “the assembly of the frames of the Nave and the choir of the cathedral, which also collapsed in the fire, will be completed at the beginning of 2024, the date on which the installation of their roofing can also begin”.
Reopening planned in a year
On the interior restoration side, “the simultaneous cleaning of the walls, painted decorations and vaults (with a total surface area of 42,000 m²) is being completed and the scaffolding is being dismantled gradually,” added this source. “During the last quarter of 2024”, once the “installation of the technical networks in the ground” and the final interior restorations have been completed, the cathedral will be ready to welcome its brand new liturgical furniture in dark brown bronze, sober and massive, as well as 1,500 openwork designer chairs in solid oak.
The reopening of the cathedral is still planned for December 8, 2024, after the Paris Olympics in the summer, as Emmanuel Macron confirmed during the national tribute paid at the end of August to General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who directed the construction site. reconstruction and died accidentally this summer. It was his right-hand man, the high-ranking civil servant Philippe Jost, who succeeded him.
A masterpiece of Gothic art admired throughout the world, Notre-Dame de Paris welcomed 12 million visitors on average each year before the fire, 2,500 services and 150 concerts.