As restoration work continues on Notre Dame cathedral, following a fire in April 2019 which came close to destroying the whole of the Paris landmark, archaeologists have discovered ancient tombs, statues and a body-shaped sarcophagus buried under the building and dating from the Middle Ages.
Almost two and a half years after it was almost destroyed by fire, work to secure the structure of Notre-Dame cathedral has been completed, making way now for the restoration of the Paris landmark which is due to reopen to the public in 2024.
The terrorist knife attack last Thursday against a church in the Riviera city of Nice, when a 21-year-old Tunisian murdered two women and the basilica’s warden, has deeply shocked the local population. For many, the traumatic events brought back the horror of one of France’s worst terrorist attacks, on July 14th 2016, when a truck was driven into Bastille Day crowds on the city’s seafront boulevard, the Promenade des Anglais, killing 86 people. Sana Sbouai reports from Nice where locals tell her of their mixed feelings of anger, fear and despondency.
French President Emmanuel Macron has arbitrated in the year-long debate over the rebuilding of Notre Dame cathedral, which was severely damaged by fire in April 2019, with a decision to return it to exactly how it was before, including its 19th-century landmark spire that was destroyed in the blaze, after several architectural projects had proposed a modern rfeincarnation, including a swimming pool on the roof.
As debate continues on the architectural style and materials to be employed in the rebuilding of the fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, an association of carpenters is arguing for axe-hewn oak wood to be used for the roof frame, as in the 13th century, and its members have gathered at a workshop in Normandy to build a truss for the iconic landmark using medieval techniques.
The repairs to Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris entered a critical stage on Monday when work began to remove the tubular metal scaffolding that melted together in the fire that almost destroyed the landmark in April 2019, an operation that runs the danger of damaging the limestone walls supporting the gothic vault.
General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is co-ordinating the project of restoring the fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, says that delays, including that caused by the coronavirus epidemic, could still be overcome to return the building 'to a place of worship within five years'.
As repair work continues on the fire-damaged 850-year-old Gothic cathedral, Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve will be moved to the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois.
French army general Jean-Louis Georgelin, appointed to steer the rebuilding of Notre Dame cathedral after it was seriously damaged by a fire in April, has told a parliamentary cultural affairs committee that the architect in charge of the project should "shut his mouth" over a conflict about the replacement of the edifice's spire.
Inès Madani, 22, and Ornella Gilligmann, 32, were sentenced to jail sentences of 30 years and 25 years respectively on Monday after being found guilty by a Paris court of attempting – although, in the event, failing – to set off a car bomb close to Notre Dame cathedral in Septembner 2016, which prosecutors said could have killed or wounded around 60 people in a nearby bar.
Work on cleaning up the damage to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, which was severely damaged by fire in April, resumed on Monday after a break of three weeks due to widespread lead contamination from the building, the extent of which was revealed by Mediapart last month.
Despite making headline pledges to hand hundreds of millions of euros for the rebuilding of Notre-Dame after a fire that severely damaged the Paris cathedral in April, luxury goods groups LVMH and Kering, the cosmetics giant L'Oréal and oil company Total have still to honour their promises, while reconstruction work involving up to 150 workers is being paid for by small donors.
The fabricated claim that the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris was attacked by protestors during the traditional May Day demonstrations was a lie too far by a government that denies the reality of its own unpopularity, writes Mediapart’s publishing editor Edwy Plenel. Its downward authoritarian spiral, he argues, is making it an accomplice in the destruction of democratic ethics.
The rector of Notre-Dame, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, has said that a wooden structure to receive worshippers should be erected in front of the fire-damaged 850-year-old cathedral while it is repaired, which is expected to take at least five years.
