In ten months, almost to the day, the construction site must be sufficiently advanced to allow the public to return: Notre-Dame de Paris must reopen its doors to visitors on December 8.
Until then, much remains to be done if the building has regained most of its familiar silhouette for several weeks.
In recent days, the dismantling of the scaffolding around the cathedral's spire has begun, revealing since this weekend its top, decorated with a new rooster.
The objective is to completely clear the structure which peaks at 96 meters for the Paris Olympic Games.
The needle of the arrow, rebuilt identically to that designed in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-Le-Duc, a masterpiece in solid oak wood covered with a lead roof, is already visible , surmounted by the crown, the cross and the rooster.
“The dismantling of the scaffolding has started and will continue in the coming months.
The arrow should be clearly visible in the Paris sky for the Olympic Games
,” assured an executive from the public establishment in charge of the reconstruction, specifying that
“the scaffolding, weighing 600 tons and made up of 70,000 pieces metal, peaked at 100 meters in height.
It included 48 levels, closely intertwined with the frame.
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Lead roofing
“It allowed the reassembly of the spire without hindering the assembly of all the solid oak parts of the frame, followed by the installation of the lead cover”
, original materials chosen and validated in 2020 by the National Commission heritage and architecture.
The spire of the cathedral collapsed, crossing the vaults of the nave, on April 15, 2019 in an impressive fire, the images of which were broadcast live, sparking global emotion.
The reopening of the cathedral is scheduled for December 8.
The reconstruction project must continue during the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11 - which will be followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8 - and public access to the three portals of the cathedral and the main adjacent street will be ensured. during this period, according to the public establishment.
Legal investigations into the origin of the disaster are continuing.
At the end of the preliminary investigation, the accidental track was favored.