On April 15, 2019, a gigantic fire ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in the heart of Paris. A brazier to which the roof, but also part of the vault, the clock and especially the magnificent spire made by Viollet-le-Duc, will unfortunately not have resisted. Since then, a titanic reconstruction project has begun, initially with a phase of securing the building which lasted two years. Since last summer, restoration work has finally been able to begin.
Three years later, the causes of the disaster remain undetermined. And given the extent of the damage caused by the fire, it is very likely that we will never know it. At least that’s what a source close to the investigation announced on Wednesday, April 13. In any case, since June 2019, that is to say since the end of the preliminary investigation, the accidental track is largely favored. There was talk of a cigarette butt badly extinguished by the workers who worked on the renovation site of the cathedral. We also mentioned the track of an electrical short circuit or even lithium batteries which would have caught fire. But no element has confirmed these hypotheses.
A tough investigation
Between the collapse of the arrow, the roof, the frame and part of the vault, the investigators had to look for clues among several hundred cubic meters of rubble. They also had to wait for the scaffolding that surrounded the cathedral, which had been put in place before the fire for renovation work, to be removed. A particularly delicate maneuver that took no less than six months. To this must be added the additional delays imposed by the health crisis and the hearing of more than a hundred witnesses. Today, even if the rubble expertise is still in progress, the hope of finding new clues to the origin of the fire is quite slim.
Reopening planned for 2024
President Emmanuel Macron is going there this Friday, April 15 to commemorate the third anniversary of the spectacular fire which ravaged one of the most visited monuments in France. It is also an opportunity to take stock of the progress of the work. “ Today, the restoration phase of the cathedral is fully engaged. On the construction site in Paris, there are three preparatory operations for the restoration which are being carried out and which will be completed in the coming weeks. The overall dusting of the interiors, vaults, walls, floors of the cathedral; the desalination of the vaults, because the salt from the water that was poured by the firefighters has reached the vaults, so the vaults must be desalinated; and then cleaning up the technical networks”explains Jérémie Patrier Leitus, director of communication for the public establishment in charge of the site.
Restoration work is also continuing in fine craft workshops throughout France. ” We are sawing the 1,000 oaks that will be used to rebuild the spire of Viollet-le-Duc in 45 sawmills throughout France. Three organ builders located in the south of France are restoring the great organ of the cathedral, and then we are extracting the 1,000 cubic meters of stones that will be used to rebuild the vaults of the cathedral. , the sideboard walls and the interior stone restorations. We have completed the security phase in accordance with the timetable set, so all the teams of public establishments, chief architects, companies are really fully mobilized to achieve this objective of reopening in 2024 “confirms Jérémie Patrier Leitus at the microphone of Lucie Bouteloup from RFI.
Also in Toulouse, a mysterious lead sarcophagus will soon be opened in the premises of the Forensic Institute. Discovered in March during archaeological excavations prior to reconstruction work, it was buried 20 m underground, and in a good state of preservation.
The absence of a plaque with a name does not make it possible to identify the deceased who is inside, but the archaeologists of INRAP, the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research, in charge of the excavations were able, thanks to a camera, to have a first outline of its contents, explaining that dried skin was present on the skull of the skeleton, that plants had been placed under the head, that pieces of fabric and an unidentifiable object were in the sarcophagus. Forensic scientists and scientists will therefore try to identify its sex, its state of health, and to clarify whether it is truly a sarcophagus from the 13th or 14th century.
The financing of the works
The budget for the works is estimated at around 7 million euros for the interior of the cathedral, that is to say its liturgical layout, the furniture, the objects. It depends on the diocese.
On the other hand, as regards the restoration of the building, it is the donors who subsidize the site. And to date, 844 million euros have been collected. Donations from 340,000 patrons from 150 different countries. However, this may not be enough to cover all of the renovation work on the cathedral and in particular the facelifts of the north and south facades of the building.
A living religious building
At the end of the morning, the rector, the administrator of the diocese Georges Pontier (who replaces the archbishop of Paris while awaiting the appointment of a successor), a cantor and a cleric will meet in the nave of Notre-Dame, in the middle scaffolding for a time of “prayer for the victims of wars, the pandemic, violence and hatred”, specified Mgr Chauvet, rector of the cathedral. And for the first time since the fire, a meditation will be offered to the faithful who wish, on the forecourt.
► Also to listen: The archaeologists of Notre-Dame de Paris