The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

A year ago, Notre-Dame de Paris was ravaged by flames

2020-04-15T04:13:13.321Z


Le Figaro takes stock of the events of the year that has passed since the cathedral fire.


Fire at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, investigation into the causes of the disaster, announcements from the authorities, controversies, various celebrations, start and stop of work ... Le Figaro looks back on a year full of events.

April 15-16, 2019: a devastating fire Notre-Dame

6:20 p.m., Monday, April 15, Île de la Cité. In the Notre-Dame cathedral being restored, Father Jean-Pierre Caveau celebrates the last mass of the day when the fire alarm sounds. The building was evacuated, but security did not detect anything unusual. Faithful and tourists are allowed to return. At 6:45 p.m., a second alarm rings.

The Notre-Dame fire started. He devours the roof, part of the vault, the Viollet-le-Duc spire. It will take fourteen hours for hundreds of firefighters to overcome them, Tuesday, April 16 in the morning. " This fire is probably equivalent to a fire hitting fifty buildings simultaneously, " said General Jean-Claude Gallet, patron of the Paris fire department, later.

Read also: The heroes of Notre-Dame: the incredible story of the general of the Paris firefighters

From the evening of the 15th, an investigation was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office for "involuntary destruction by fire". At the same time, emotion and reactions flow. Thousands of Parisians, believers or not, gather around the burning cathedral. Prayers, songs, applause for the firefighters and silence in the face of the tragedy that is playing follow each other all night.

From the forecourt, at 11:30 p.m., Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in which he " undertakes " to launch a national subscription the next day. Like all our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this part of us burn. [...] This Notre-Dame cathedral, we will rebuild it. All together. It is part of our French destiny, ”said the head of state.

April 17, 2019: General Georgelin at the helm

On Wednesday April 17, General Jean-Louis Georgelin was appointed " special representative " of Emmanuel Macron, in charge of overseeing the progress of the reconstruction of the cathedral. The mission of the military, a practicing Catholic, begins the next day, specifies a press release from the Élysée.

Read also: General Georgelin, a man of authority to revive Notre-Dame

The native of Haute-Garonne, then aged 70, has behind him a long career which has notably led him to the functions of chief of the private staff of the President of the Republic (2002-2006), chief of General Staff of the French Armies (2006-2010) and Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor (2010-2016).

April 21, 2019: Easter in Saint-Eustache

On Sunday April 21, 2019, Archbishop Michel Aupetit celebrates the Easter Mass in Saint-Eustache. In his homily, the Archbishop of Paris "gives thanks to the faith of the builders " of Notre-Dame and "pays tribute to our dear firefighters ", who " were able to preserve the essentials at the risk of their lives ".

Read also: In the Saint-Eustache church in Paris, the joy of Easter experienced by the dramas

Archbishop Aupetit expresses special thanks to the chaplain of the fire soldiers, Father Fournier, who during the fire " went to get the Body of Christ, the Blessed Sacrament which gives meaning to the life of this splendid building " .

June 15, 2019: first mass at Notre-Dame since the fire

It is with a construction helmet on his head that the same Bishop Aupetit celebrates on June 15 in the early evening the first mass at Notre-Dame since the fire. Only about thirty people attend this service which is held in the chapel of the Virgin and which is broadcast by the Catholic television channel KTO.

Read also: At Notre-Dame de Paris, a first mass symbol of a cathedral "alive"

Before the start of the celebration - which takes place two months to the day after the fire, but also on the day of the dedication of the cathedral - the Archbishop of Paris confides that "the fact of saying mass shows [the faithful] that they will come back to it one day . " In his homily, he recalls the religious vocation of the building. "This cathedral is a place of worship, it is its own and unique purpose , " he insists.

Mgr Aupetit on June 16, 2019 at Notre-Dame Karine PERRET / POOL / AFP

June 26, 2019: the prosecution favors the accidental runway

In a press release made public on June 26, the public prosecutor of Paris Rémy Heitz takes stock of two and a half months of preliminary investigation. "There is nothing to support the hypothesis of a criminal origin" of the fire, first points out Rémy Heitz.

Read also: Notre-Dame de Paris fire: the criminal track dismissed

"Several hypotheses have caught the attention of investigators, including that of a malfunction of the electrical system or that of a fire caused by a poorly extinguished cigarette, without it being possible to favor one at this stage" , specifies the public prosecutor.

In the same press release, the public prosecutor's office announced the opening of a judicial investigation against X for "involuntary damage by fire, by manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation of prudence or security". This procedure, entrusted to three investigating judges, is still ongoing at the moment.

Summer 2019: lead puts a stop to work

First stop of the "construction site of the century": on July 25, the prefect of Ile-de-France, Michel Cadot, suspends the works following a report from the labor inspectorate highlighting shortcomings the precautionary measures linked to the presence of lead.

During the work stoppage, decontamination of the soil around the cathedral begins. On August 19, the site resumes with new safety rules, much more stringent than before.

July 29, 2019: the “Notre-Dame law” promulgated

After three months of shuttle between the National Assembly and the Senate, the President of the Republic promulgated on Monday July 29, 2019 the law " for the conservation and restoration of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and instituting a national subscription for this purpose " It appears the next day in the Official Journal.

Composed of 11 articles, the text evokes national subscription, the exceptional tax reduction for donors, the future public establishment responsible for the works, the derogation from the usual rules of town planning and public procurement ...

September 2019: the “treasures” of Notre-Dame exposed

During Heritage Days, the Ministry of Culture decides to exhibit “Notre-Dame treasures” on its premises. Highlight of the exhibition: a bronze sculpture representing a rooster, which decorated the top of the cathedral spire and which was found almost miraculously in the rubble of the fire.

Alongside the rooster, three statues: the angel of Saint Matthew, the eagle of Saint John and the head of the architect Viollet-le-Duc represented as Saint Thomas. The sixteen statues that adorned the famous spire were fortunately removed for restoration on April 11, a few days before the disaster.

December 1, 2019: creation of the public body responsible for the works

A decree dated November 28 and entered into force on December 1 officially creates the " Public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral ". On December 2, another decree appointed General Jean-Louis Georgelin president of this public establishment.

December 17, 2019: General Georgelin promises a Te Deum in April 2024

On December 17, during the preview of the animated film Notre-Dame de Paris, the test of the centuries , Jean-Louis Georgelin announces that a “Te Deum [solemn thanksgiving, Editor's note] will take place on April 16, 2024 " at Notre-Dame, five years after the cathedral fire, " to celebrate the work that has been done ".

In January, before the Senate Culture Committee, the president of the public establishment clarified that this Te Deum in 2024 "does not mean that everything will be finished, far from it" . Referring to the deadline set by Emmanuel Macron, the general assured: " We will not do anything to get to the five years, we will not work in a sloppy way. We work for centuries ”.

January and March 2020: intrusions on the site

On the night of January 16 to 17, a small group of young people managed to deceive the safety of the site and climbed into the cockpit of the huge crane overlooking the cathedral. On social networks, the images of the intrusion rotate before being deleted.

Two months later, on March 17, two men broke into the site. Spotted by the security service, reinforced following the January incident, they were arrested by the police in possession of stones stolen from the building and placed in police custody.

March 16, 2020: the construction site halted by the coronavirus

On Monday March 16, on the eve of the start of the confinement ordered by Emmanuel Macron to stem the coronavirus epidemic, the public establishment announces the interruption of work to secure the cathedral. The dismantling of the giant scaffolding surrounding the building is postponed indefinitely .

Read also: The Notre-Dame site interrupted by the advance of the coronavirus

The restoration phase of the building, which was initially to begin "in the course of 2021" , according to General Georgelin, will therefore also be automatically postponed. Unless work resumes - partially - soon ... This track is in any case seriously studied by the public establishment, underlines Le Figaro on March 23.

April 10, 2020: a prayer to Our Lady for Good Friday

As the sad anniversary of the fire approaches, a veneration of the Holy Crown of Thorns - saved from the flames on April 15, 2019 - is organized on Friday April 10 in Notre-Dame, on the occasion of Good Friday. "Today, we are in this half-collapsed cathedral to say that life is still there," said Archbishop Michel Aupetit, the Archbishop of Paris in particular.

Read also: In Notre-Dame in ruins, meditation, prayer and music to keep hope

The actors Judith Chemla and Philippe Torreton declaim texts by Marie Noël, Mother Teresa, Paul Claudel, Charles Péguy, Francis Jammes ... The readings are interspersed with pieces of music - Bach, Gluck, Telemann - interpreted by the violinist Renaud Capuçon. The prayer - in very small groups, confinement obliges - ends with a magnificent Ave Maria sung by Judith Chemla.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-04-15

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-23T13:23:13.719Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.