Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
France 24
France 24
Politics

In pictures: Notre-Dame Cathedral rebuild hits milestone as melted scaffolding cleared

People observe Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on November 25, 2020, after the successful removal of a web of roof scaffolding that was damaged in the April 2019 fire that devastated the monument. © Michel Euler, AP Photo

Reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris reached a turning point this week. The removal of the final portions of the scaffolding that melted into a twisted web during last year's blaze led French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot to declare the once-imperiled landmark "saved", and crucial protective and stabilisation work can now proceed.

Delicate work to rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral began in June to clear away the 200 tonnes of tangled tubes that surrounded the cathedral's spire when it collapsed as millions watched in horror on the banks of the Seine river and around the world on April 15, 2019.

The spire and other parts of the roof were undergoing renovation work when the fire erupted, threatening to destroy the 13th-century gothic landmark.

A photograph taken on November 24, 2020, in Paris shows the last remaining remnants of the melted scaffolding on the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
A photograph taken on November 24, 2020, in Paris shows the last remaining remnants of the melted scaffolding on the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral. © Martin Bureau, AFP

But while the monument's walls remained standing, the extensive heat and loss of much of the oak roof framework compromised their structural integrity.

The mass of molten scaffolding – some 40,000 metal tubes, caked in leaden dust and debris and suspended dozens of metres above the cathedral's floor – also risked crashing to the ground.

Parts of a destroyed ribbed vault and the mangled scaffolding are seen during preliminary work on Notre Dame on July 17, 2019, three months after the fire.
Parts of a destroyed ribbed vault and the mangled scaffolding are seen during preliminary work on Notre Dame on July 17, 2019, three months after the fire. © Stéphane de Sakutin/Pool/AFP

The removal of the tangled mass was considered dangerous, with some experts fearing that it could cause more of the Gothic monument to fall down. It was also thought that the scaffolding might have melded to the cathedral in the blaze, and be keeping it in place.

Workers on a crane look at Notre-Dame Cathedral site on November 24, 2020 in Paris.
Workers on a crane look at Notre-Dame Cathedral site on November 24, 2020 in Paris. © Martin Bureau, AFP

Culture Minister Bachelot was on hand on Tuesday as the final pieces were removed, accompanied by Jean-Louis Georgelin, the army general overseeing the restoration.

"The threat this scaffolding posed to the cathedral has been lifted," Georgelin said. "Now we can tackle the final safeguarding steps."

French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot visits the reconstruction site of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, on November 24, 2020.
French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot visits the reconstruction site of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, on November 24, 2020. © Martin Bureau, AFP

"I feel a profound emotion. When you enter the martyrized nave, you have tears in your eyes," Bachelot said.

"Notre-Dame is saved, we know that as of today," the minister told the lower-house National Assembly's fact-finding committee on Tuesday evening after the visit. "The fear over the solidity of the structure is definitively behind us," Bachelot added. But, she said, "the path remains long and the phase of securing and consolidating will continue until the summer of 2021."

Notre-Dame Cathedral restoration workers on a crane examine burnt woodwork on November 24, 2020.
Notre-Dame Cathedral restoration workers on a crane examine burnt woodwork on November 24, 2020. © Martin Bureau, AFP

Before removing the damaged scaffolding tubes, workers had to enclose them within a new network of scaffolding to ensure that the mangled mesh of tubing would not move. Yet another metal grid was then erected so that workers could be lowered in by ropes to carefully cut the tubes apart. The collapse of a single piece could have threatened the stability of the entire weakened edifice.

The apse of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and scaffolding built to assist in restoration work after the April 2019 fire at the Paris monument, on November 25, 2020.
The apse of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and scaffolding built to assist in restoration work after the April 2019 fire at the Paris monument, on November 25, 2020. © Michel Euler, AP Photo

Sections were then lifted out by a crane towering 80 metres (260 feet) above the cathedral. In late October, workers were finally able to reach and stabilise a massive beam that threatened to drop into the transept.

The renovation work has been slowed by delays due to rough weather last winter, concerns over lead pollution from the fallout of the roof that went up in smoke, and most recently the coronavirus pandemic, which brought work on the site to a standstill during France's first Covid-19 lockdown in the spring.

Detail on pillars inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris during restoration work, on November 24, 2020.
Detail on pillars inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris during restoration work, on November 24, 2020. © Martin Bureau, AFP

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron said the spire would be rebuilt to its original form, bringing to a close the heated controversy over that emblematic element of the cathedral's restoration. Macron had initially called for a "contemporary" touch in the rebuild.

A man jogs along the Seine river next to Notre-Dame Cathedral, on November 25, 2020, in Paris.
A man jogs along the Seine river next to Notre-Dame Cathedral, on November 25, 2020, in Paris. © Michel Euler, AP Photo

The president has vowed to have Notre-Dame rebuilt in five years – by 2024, the year the city of Paris is slated to host the Olympic Summer Games – though some architects have warned that such a massive project could take much longer.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.