Without a doubt, the blaze at Notre-Dame was the most disturbing incident I’ve ever seen. This goes back to approximately five years ago, on the 15th of April 2019, when I, along with my sibling Liam and his large family, were touring the magnificent Gothic cathedral. For majority of them, it was their first trip to Paris. When we received the terrible news that same night, we were gripped with disbelief. By the time we reached Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, a heartrending fire was ravaging the cathedral. Thick smoke was hovering over the building, the main spire had already crumbled and the entire roof was emanating a bright glow amidst the evening twilight.
Countless people were assembled along the banks of the Seine; few knelt praying while some hymned, optimistically yearning for a miracle, as incessant wails of police sirens and the Parisian fire brigade relentlessly tried to control the inferno with water cannons.
At one point, the situation appeared dire as flames threatened to engulf the cathedral’s north tower, home to eight of its 21 bronze bells. The thought of the fire spiralling out of control and possibly even leading to the tower’s collapse was terrifying. Only when the situation was brought under control could we gather the courage to depart.
As the fire began to dwindle, a poignant cartoon by Ecuadorian architect, Cristina Correa Freile began circulating on Instagram. The sketch portrayed a distressed Quasimodo, the infamous deformed bell-ringer, holding the cathedral’s twin towers. I was moved to tears when I saw that for the first time, and I am sure others shared this sentiment.
Within the span of a day, France’s wealthiest, including Bernard Arnault, CEO of the luxury-goods firm LVMH; François-Henri Pinault, head of the Kering group which manages fashion brands such as Balenciaga, Gucci and Saint Laurent; and the Bettencourt Meyers family, proprietors of L’Oréal, committed to contributing a collective €500 million towards restoring Notre-Dame.
In an address made on television from the Elysée Palace, President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to restore the Notre-Dame cathedral even more impressively than before, with a deadline of five years. This target setting appears overly ambitious considering the vast complexity of the restoration project which France is now faced with.
Notably, the cathedral’s grand organ, cherished artefacts, and rose windows were saved from the flames, but the fire didn’t spare the 13th-century oak trusses of the attic, also referred to as la Forêt, or the Forest. The fall of the 96-metre spire into the nave brought a significant portion of stone vaulting at the transept crossing crashing down with it.
Ironically, restoration work was being carried out around the spire when the fire broke out, allegedly due to an electrical malfunction or an improperly extinguished cigarette. The steel scaffolding set up for this work stood the test of the fire’s blaze but was left in a hazardous condition. Likewise, the stones atop the walls, and the north, south, and west gables were also affected.
Immediate steps to secure the building were initiated the next day after the fire with a visual inspection by Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect for historic monuments in Paris. These steps involved installing timber props for lateral support to stabilise the gables and using mountain climbers to cover the exposed nave, choir and transepts with tarpaulins to shield them from weather elements.
Given the drenching of the surviving stone vaults from the fire hoses, 40 sensors tied to alarm systems were installed to monitor any structural shifts to the nearest millimetre. Statues atop the gables were removed as a precaution and nets were put up to prevent potential injury from falling masonry, such was the severity.
Jean-Louis Georgelin, a retired French army general was selected by Macron to supervise the restoration project, however, his untimely death in a hiking accident in the Pyrenees in August 2023 was a blow. His successor was Philippe Jost, a former weapons engineer and senior civil servant, who took over as the director of the new public institution, Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris, or Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris.
An intense dispute arose following President Macron’s suggestion for an international contest to conceive a modernised design for a new spire during the restoration of the Cathedral. Not hesitating to express his dissatisfaction, Villeneuve stated he would quit if this plan was actualised. In response, the French senate enforced a bill mandating the restoration to adhere to its most recent known visual condition, leading Macron to withdraw his idea.
Interestingly, the spire wasn’t original to the cathedral. Its design was the creation of French medievalist architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc during his work on the cathedral in the 1850s. Amidst the controversy, it was fortunate that the 16 copper statues that accompany the spire were spared from the fire, having been removed a few days prior to the incident.
The necessity for oak to recreate the spire was met in the historic royal forest of Bercé, found to the south of Le Mans, where the chosen trees, each reaching at least 18m in height, had been planted in the time of Louis XIV for the purpose of supplying masts to the French navy. In a display of unity, forests from all around France contributed a thousand robust oaks to replace the damaged roof trusses.
It could have been far simpler to opt for steel trusses, but the pursuit of originality influenced the decision to use natural oak, worked as it would have been in medieval times by carpenters using axes and adzes. The pieces were held together with dowels rather than contemporary fixtures such as nails or screws. This commitment to authenticity is even more impressive given the tight restoration schedule.
Owing to the fire, the roofs lead covering and the spires lead casing, together amounting to 460 tonnes, melted and dispersed toxic dust. Worth noting is that lead levels detected around the cathedral were 100 times the permissible limit. This lead contamination also affected the surrounding region.
For their failure to safeguard the health of workers and nearby residents after the fire, environmental group, Robin des Bois, initiated legal proceedings against those in charge. This led to a temporary closure lasting a month, during which the cathedral was rid of the contamination by a team in protective suits, a requirement for all entering the site until it was deemed safe.
Initially, the internal structure of the cathedral was vacuumed using high-intensity machines fitted with filters for trapping lead particles. Following this, a latex mist was spritzed on the walls, including the carved portions. This mist, upon solidifying, formed a layer that ensnared residual dust and ancient dirt, which was extracted through peeling of the coating, revealing the radiant sandy-cartooned limestone underneath.
A considerable volume of identical Lutetian limestone, amounting to 1,300 cubic metres, was mandatory for rebuilding the ruined vaults, replacing the impaired coping stones and for fashioning new decorative elements. All these materials were obtained from one quarry in Bonneuil-en-Valois, located 70km northeast of Paris, and transported in large chunks to the workshops where professional masons cut and recast them.
Similar to the medieval period, a “sculptors’ lodge” was created outside the cathedral to accommodate the group of sculptors working on or reworking statues, gargoyles, and various aesthetic objects. Extensive woodwork was completed off-site and cranes were used for the placement of the new oak frameworks. In total, there are 150 companies volunteering, with an average 500 employees working on site most of the time.
Maeve Jennings, a 22-year Paris inhabitant from Kells, Co Meath, asserted, “France is remarkably equipped for such a sophisticated, intricate and globally significant project.” She added, “The construction site is a community of artisans and restorers who carry immense pride in being a part of it. Even the scaffolding is extraordinary, illuminated in the night like an extravagant cruise liner on the Seine River. Paris outdoes everywhere else when it comes to creating beautiful things, a fact acknowledged by Parisians and evident in the enormous confidence and pride they hold for this project.”
She is part of the Fondation Irlandaise and the strategy committee of the Irish Cultural Centre. According to Jennings, the consistent sight of the project’s progress, being at the city’s heart, is heartening. “France has always employed mechanisms to secure the transfer of artisanal abilities through associations akin to guilds, such as Compagnons du Devoir and Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. Even Paris’s bureaucratic approvals system for significant projects will assure a top-notch restoration, safeguarding its accomplishment process,” she explained.
The emotional connection of Parisians to Notre-Dame was demonstrated in their vivid, heart-wrenching memories of the moment when the steeple collapsed – bringing forth comparisons to historical tragedies such as JFK’s assassination and the 9/11 incident. The Parisians, who are notoriously reserved with their emotions, couldn’t hold back their tears, publicly mourning their shared trauma and pronouncing their grief.
The ringing of the cathedral’s bells for the first time following the devastating fire in January and the unveiling of the replica spire by the end of March instilled a sense of peace and healing within the city. The healing was further bolstered after experiencing the horrific Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan massacres five years ago. The newly designed golden cockerel weather vane crowning the spire, representing the cathedral’s “resurrection”, designed by Philippe Villeneuve was blessed by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich before being hoisted up last December.
In an effort to protect against any future fires, a misting system has been installed in the cathedral’s oak “forest” in the attic to promptly extinguish potential fires. Also, the cathedral’s majestic organ, known as its “voice”, is being rejuvenated. The organ, which is France’s largest with five keyboards, 8,000 pipes, and 109 stops, had been contaminated with lead dust and had to be meticulously broken up, thoroughly cleaned and then put back together. The old sheepskin bellows of the organ have also been replaced and tuned, aiming towards a new level of audio perfection.
However, acquiring a pass for a cathedral visit before the fifth anniversary of the fire was unfortunately not possible due to scheduling constraints reported by Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris. Still, there are engaging exhibits around the square in front of the cathedral, including remarkable outdoor displays on large panels bordering the perimeter that depict the ongoing restoration efforts.
Efforts on the site are slated to continue well after the scheduled reopening of the cathedral on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th. A distinguished €50 million project funded by the Paris city council is also set in motion that aims to remodel the environment around Notre-Dame. This is in line with an imaginative, eco-friendly design conceived by Brussels-based landscape architect Bas Smets, which had won a competition.
Despite still being encased in a web of steel scaffolding, the cathedral unveils a fully cleaned and restored inside that will undeniably marvel its admirers with immaculate limestone walls, breathtakingly radiant stained-glass windows, freshly coated chapels, and glowing funerary monuments. The woodwork in the choir stalls and other places now appear as new. It’s all completed and polished.
Judged by any criterion, the swift refurbishing of the cathedral is a remarkable feat that is likely to be recognised as Macron’s most lasting contribution. It has also touched the souls of people far and wide. Around 340,000 sponsors from more than 150 nations, including French tycoons, have given a total sum of €846 million to facilitate this epic endeavour.
Though technically, the Notre-Dame de Paris, like other French cathedrals, is French state property, in essence, it remains a treasure of the global community, indeed, even more so now.