Against a background of a gray sky, his feet in a carpet of dead leaves, he stands out, proud, haughty and immense, 20 m high, in the heart of the forest of Bercé (Sarthe).
Impressive and majestic.
Soon, however, he will be shot.
But for a good cause, a national issue: the rebirth of Notre-Dame de Paris.
This Friday, two ministers, those of Culture and Agriculture, and a plethora of slightly frozen personalities even made the trip to the middle of the woods to dedicate this bicentennial oak as the first to be selected to be used for the reconstruction of the spire of the cathedral, destroyed during the dramatic fire of April 15, 2019.
Almost two years later, it is about thirty kilometers from Le Mans that part of the new stage of the rescue of the "big burn" is being built.
Since January, everywhere in France, the ONF but also private operators have started to look for the remarkable trees necessary for the reconstruction of the frame, according to the criteria defined by the architects.
230-year-old trees
A total of 1,000 will be needed, already selected and coming from all French regions, in the form of donations estimated at 1 million euros.
Classified as an exceptional forest, State property, Bercé is a special site, exploited from Colbert for the king's ships.
It is part of these "cathedral forests" where the groves of hundred-year-old oaks, aligned and spaced, are reminiscent of the pillars of temples.
“On the different plots, we made an initial selection according to the requests of the public establishment of Notre-Dame, namely trees 20 m high and 1 m in diameter.
They also had to have a particular curvature in order to meet technical requirements.
It made it a bit difficult for us, but in the end we found these eight exceptional pieces, all of which are around 230 years old.
Including this one.
For us, it is a pride to participate in the rebirth of Notre-Dame ”, tells, at the foot of the big oak tree, Claire Quinones, of the ONF, who supervised this research.
These exceptional pieces are intended to raise the spire of Viollet-le-Duc and more particularly its seat, the stool, which supports all the rest of the frame and requires a curving of the beams.
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Beyond the symbol, the invigorating ministerial outing, with an improvised platform in the middle of the forest, between brambles and branches, marks a new stage in the history of the Notre-Dame site.
"Yes, it is important," welcomes General Jean-Louis Georgelin, president of the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of the building.
This shows, even if this is not yet the case, that the securing phase is about to end and that we are seeing the arrival of reconstruction.
It should start at the end of the year.
"
The chief architect of historic monuments at the head of the work, Philippe Villeneuve, was both very moved and all smiles: “When I see this oak standing in front of me, I tell myself that it is the beginning of the real rebirth of the cathedral… That we will finally find it.
"
Calendar held for 2024
Regarding the frame, it is not for now.
If, in Bercé as elsewhere, the 1,000 trees have been chosen, they still have to go through a certain number of stages.
The first will be the fastest: by the end of March, they will have to be cut before their sap rise.
"To those who say that we are going to plunder the French forest, I would point out that these trees had to be cut anyway for good forest management and that the levy for Notre-Dame represents 0.1% of the annual harvest" , made a point of clarifying on the spot Roselyne Bachelot, the Minister of Culture.
"As planned, we will be able to have a beautiful ceremony in the cathedral in 2024", assured the minister.
/ AFP / Thomas Coex
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Then the oaks will be skidded;
in other words, moved and stored.
Sawing and cutting will only take place in the second half of 2021. Above all, they will then have to be dried for eighteen months, which postpones their use until the end of 2022, beginning of 2023 ... Or in two years.
Not what, apparently, to question the schedule desired by Emmanuel Macron.
"As planned, we will be able to have a beautiful ceremony in the cathedral in 2024", assures Roselyne Bachelot, relayed by General Georgelin.
“We are on schedule.
We will return Notre-Dame to worship in 2024. And, yes, sir, that day you will be able to see her arrow again in the sky of Paris.
"
Frankly, we are only asking for that.