Five years after devastating fire, race to rebuild Notre-Dame gains pace
Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by a fire in April 2019, is on track to reopen on schedule and under budget by December 2024, five years later, the head of the reconstruction has said.
"We are meeting deadlines and budget," Philippe Jost, who heads the public body overseeing the project, told a French Senate committee last week.
Jost praised the work of the 250 companies and artisan groups involved in the reconstruction, which began in spring 2022 after rubble had been cleared and the foundations secured.
Signs the that project is nearing completion are clear. In February, some of the scaffolding was removed to unveil the cathedral's new spire, adorned with a golden rooster and a cross.
The rooster, reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, symbolises resilience amid destruction after the devastating fire, officials said.
An anti-fire misting system is also being added under the cathedral's roof.
The installation of the lead roof itself, which melted during the fire, is ongoing. The outer layer will be laid on a solid oak frame, rebuilt with dowelled wood and no metal bolts using techniques dating back hundreds of years.
Rebuilding was delayed by decontamination efforts, after more than 300 tonnes of lead from the roof melted in the fire.
Authorities then had to halt work several times over the first winter due to high winds, before France went into Covid lockdown in early 2020.
The cathedral was built over two centuries between 1163 and 1345.
Read more on RFI English
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