Millennial cathedral is looking for timber.
Foresters are currently roaming the Conches-Breteuil massif, in the Eure, in search of century-old oaks as materials.
Their mission, to find the right candidates to rebuild the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris, which collapsed during the terrible fire of 2019.
Experts choose trees based on their dimensions, height, diameter, quality.
A thousand trees must be felled by March for the reconstruction of the spire.
"This is the legacy of old forestry, not 20-year-old trees but very old trees," describes Dominique de Villebonne, deputy director of the National Forestry Office (ONF).
Including plantations decided by former kings to carry out naval constructions and ensure the size of the French fleet.
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No panic, according to forestry experts
The perfect cast?
Oaks that have been "led" so as to be straight, 50 to 90 cm in diameter and 8 to 14 meters in height.
However, only hundred-year-old trees, even bicentennial trees, can boast of such statures.
Don't panic, reassure forestry experts in France: in both public and private forests, there are enough such specimens to reconstruct the spire.
VIDEO. Notre-Dame de Paris: why the framework must be reborn in wood and identically (according to these carpenters)
The public establishment in charge of the renovation of the famous cathedral wants to remain discreet.
We just know that hunts are organized in the Orne.
At the ONF, on the other hand, this historic site can be an opportunity to tell the story of forest management: “Along with these trees, we let others age for a very long time, we plant others so that the following generations can they also create exceptional works, ”insists Dominique de Villebonne.
The reconstruction of the spire has not yet started.
But a myriad of professions are already active.
To restore Notre-Dame before the end of 2024, and thus meet the deadlines set by Emmanuel Macron, we must cut now and especially before the end of March, and the rise of sap.
Otherwise, the humidity will be too high.
Before being worked, the cut trunks must rest in a dry place between 12 and 18 months.
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