Emmanuel Macron will visit the site of Notre-Dame de Paris on Friday morning, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the fire which ravaged the cathedral, the Elysée announced on Thursday.
Accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron, the Head of State will "
take stock of the progress of restoration operations
" in order to "
note that the objective of returning the building to worship and visits before the end of the year 2024 will be held
", affirmed the presidency.
"
He will observe the restored transept, the apse ambulatory and the completion of the reconstruction of the 'stool' which will support the new spire, the installation of which will begin at the end of the month and be completed at the end of the year
,” she added.
The installation of this stool, an 80-ton base, will be completed on Saturday, four years to the day after the fire.
The cathedral will therefore be able to find its spire, which will be rebuilt identically to the previous one, designed by the 19th century architect Viollet-Le-Duc and culminating at 96 meters in height.
Read alsoThierry-Dominique Hombrech: “Rebuilding the Catholic Church as we rebuild Notre-Dame”
Unprecedented outpouring of solidarity
On April 15, 2019, the images of Notre-Dame on fire and its collapsing spire with its framework and part of its vaults moved the whole world, triggering an unprecedented outpouring of solidarity (846 million euros in donations from 340,000 donors).
Emmanuel Macron will also be accompanied in particular by the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul-Malak and the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich.