(Paris) Less than nine months before the planned reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, ravaged by a fire in 2019, the “deadlines and budget” of the titanic reconstruction project are met, assured Philippe Jost, at the head, on Wednesday. of the public establishment which is responsible for it.
“We are meeting deadlines and budget,” declared Mr. Jost, questioned about the results of this “extraordinary project” by the Senate Culture Committee. It came two weeks before the fifth anniversary of the fire, on April 15, 2019, the images of which broadcast live on television and on social networks had moved the whole world.
Retracing the stages of this reconstruction, Mr. Jost praised the work of “250 companies” and “art professions” at work on the site, whose actual reconstruction work began in spring 2022 after a phase of clearing the rubble and securing the building, costing “150 million euros”.
Mr. Jost, who succeeded General Jean-Louis Georgelin who died suddenly last summer, estimated that, “in this final demanding straight line”, the reconstruction budget should remain, barring unforeseen circumstances, “below 550 million of fixed euros”.
There will then remain “around 150 million euros” of the 846 million collected by the national subscription, which will be “reallocated to urgent restorations of the exteriors” of the cathedral. The facades of Notre-Dame were notably damaged by stone pathologies prior to the fire.
These restorations will be managed by the public establishment from 2025, he specified.
“A piece of bravery” and probably the most visible result of this “wound closed in mid-March”, according to him, the spire of Notre-Dame, which had pierced the nave while collapsing in the flames, was rebuilt at the identical and points again in the sky of Paris as the scaffolding surrounding it is removed.
The installation of the lead roof continues on its solid oak frame and its decorative elements also gradually find their location.