Parishioners of the Notre-Dame des Noues church should be able to celebrate the next Christmas mass there.
The building, closed since December 2019 due to a risk of roof collapse, should in fact reopen its doors in November 2024. Major construction work began a few months ago.
It obviously involves redoing the roof, but the diocese, owner of the church, is taking the opportunity to bring the building up to standard, whether in terms of electricity, fire risk or accessibility for people with reduced mobility. .
The work concerns the entire building, which includes the church itself, an apartment and parish rooms.
“We are taking the opportunity to redo everything,” explains Olivier Bardonnet, responsible for the works for the diocese of Pontoise.
There were significant leaks in the roof which was no longer waterproof, and water seeped down the walls.
This created dysfunctions.
»
The reopening of the church, built in 1968 in the Noues district and recognizable in particular thanks to its contemporary architecture, with its roof terrace and its 31-meter bell tower, is impatiently awaited by parishioners.
In the meantime, they must fall back on the other church in the town, Sainte-Madeleine, located in the town center.
“This leaves a big void for the parishioners, and even for the residents of the neighborhood,” specifies the representative of the diocese.
It creates life.
»
One of the largest religious projects in Val-d'Oise
The work took time to start, due to important preliminary studies.
“It was very complicated from a technical point of view,” explains Olivier Bardonnet.
The frame is made of wood.
The simplest thing would have been to put posts in the nave, but that would have completely distorted the church.
»
The project, the cost of which is estimated at 2.4 million euros, is financed by the diocese, the Cardinal construction sites association and the parish of Franconville, through donations.
This is one of the largest religious projects in Val-d'Oise with that of the church of Magny-en-Vexin, also closed since 2019 and whose work, estimated between 8 and 10 million euros, must end in 2030.
The roofs of two other churches in Val-d'Oise were recently the subject of work.
These are Sainte-Marie des Peuples, in Cergy, in 2020 (at a cost of 500,000 euros), and Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, in Eaubonne in 2021 (at a cost of 1.5 million euros). euros).