As per a Paris correspondent, presently worried President of France Emmanuel Macron, due to political turmoil in the country, plans to use the reopening of the cathedral ‘Notre Dame’ for a political boost.
A gravely weakened President Emmanuel Macron hopes to win a new lease of political life from ceremonial reopening of Notre Dame.
Joined by US President-elect Donald Trump, Prince William and other international figures, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Macron seek to present the renovated cathedral as a symbol of France’s inner reserves of creative strength.
In a speech marking the occasion, he urged the world to see beyond the country’s current political crisis and admire the determination, organization and hard graft that have rescued one of France’s most famous buildings in just five years.
The long-awaited event comes just as France enters a period of deep uncertainty triggered by the fall of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government. A replacement has yet to be named.
Five-and-a-half years after the devastating fire, Macron had planned to make the cathedral’s reopening the optimistic climax of 2024 – a year also marked by the Paris Olympic Games.
But while he seeks to capitalize on the project’s undoubted success, a contrast is unavoidable between the depressed state of the country as a whole, and the soaring achievement of fixing this magnificent Gothic cathedral.
Now, five and a half years after the devastating fire, Notre Dame reopened. The ceremony marks the moment that the Catholic Church retakes possession of the cathedral, ahead of the first Mass celebrated on Sunday.
Macron had originally intended to make an address inside the cathedral, but was advised that this would contravene France’s strict rules on secularity.
As a compromise, he visited the cathedral eight days ago to thank hundreds of craftsmen and women – a televised tour which allowed the world a first glimpse of the stunningly rejuvenated interior.
The evening’s religious ceremony will be followed by a concert featuring Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Canadian singer Garou.
One dignitary who did not attend is Pope Francis, though he has sent a message that will be read out. The Pope’s relations with France are cordial rather than friendly. He is reported to have been angered by French policies to cut immigration, and by Macron’s decision to put the right to abortion in the constitution.
In the French press, the Pope is said to be more interested in the younger and growing Christian communities of the southern hemisphere than the medieval Churches of Europe.
The Fire that Engulfed Notre Dame
The fire on 15 April 2019 destroyed the medieval roof-timbers, the spire and three sections of stone vaulting. An appeal for donors raised €850m ($897m; £704m), and 2,000 masons, carpenters, art-restorers, engineers and architects worked on the project.
“The moment I looked inside on the day after the fire, I knew that everything would be all right. The damage was nothing like as bad as I had feared,” said cathedral chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, who disputes the widespread theory that ‘Notre-Dame’ came close to total collapse.
“Apart from replacing the roof and spire, the main task was decontamination. Everything was covered in lead oxide powder. But that meant we could restore and clean – which explains why the cathedral looks so beautiful today.”
Before the fire, the cathedral was already deemed to be in a state of severe repair, and scaffolding was in place to renovate the spire and other external parts much damaged by corrosion.
Some 12 million people per year were visiting the cathedral, a number which is now expected to rise. A new route around the building has been devised to cope with the 100 visitors a minute expected to come here at the height of the tourist season.
Indeed, a Gothic Masterpiece, the construction the Notre-Dame of Paris medieval cathedral began in 1163 and is considered to have been completed in the thirteenth century. Although the structure was modified multiple times in the following centuries, it remains a stunning example of Gothic architecture with distinctive flying buttresses, Gothic towers, a central spire, and large rose windows.
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, the cathedral of Notre-Dame served as the coronation site for Napoleon I in 1804 and later as a funeral site for various French presidents. The inspiration for Victor Hugo’s world-famous novel ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ and countless other literary and artistic masterpieces, Notre-Dame is an icon recognized all over the world.
The Near-Loss of a Global Icon
On the evening of April 15, 2019, a blaze rapidly consumed the roof of Notre-Dame. The beloved landmark was saved from collapse thanks to a skillful effort to extinguish the fire. An international outpouring of sympathy for the citizens of Paris and all of France followed, as the near loss of this universal masterpiece was a reminder of the depth of human connection to heritage places. In France, a resolute commitment to rebuild was buoyed by private donations, ranging from small amounts to pledges for hundreds of millions of euros.
The suggestion that rebuilding might deviate from the historic form of the roof and spire prompted fervent debate. While many emphasized the importance of recreating the well-known form of the cathedral in the cityscape, others favored the symbolic potential of a new, contemporary design for the roof and spire. The catastrophic event further underscored the importance of emergency preparedness and accurate risk assessment in the wake of other high-profile blazes including the Mackintosh Building of the Glasgow School of Art and the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.
Officials recently announced that the 12th-century landmark will reopen on December 8, 2024. Under the late General Jean-Louis Georgelin’s leadership, the restoration aimed to meet this deadline, despite predictions that it could take up to 20 years to rebuild the roof, spire, and stone vaulting. Although the cathedral will open on schedule, some restoration work will continue into 2026.
Educationist/Administrator/Editor/Author/Speaker
Commencing teaching in his early twenties, Prof Aggarwal has diverse experience of great tenure in the top institutions not only as an educationist, administrator, editor, author but also promoting youth and its achievements through the nicest possible content framing. A revolutionary to the core, he is also keen to address the society around him for its betterment and growth on positive notes while imbibing the true team spirit the work force along with.
Comments