The cathedral of which Victor Hugo sang the praises enters a new phase of its restoration. However, the budget will have to be revised upwards. This was announced on July 2, 2020 by the president of the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris.
The budget for the security, consolidation and cleaning phase of Notre Dame must be increased. To date, it has reached 165 million euros, more than double the 80 million initially estimated.
This was explained on July 2, 2020 by General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in his capacity as president of the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Heard by the Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, the soldier wanted to be optimistic: the lead emissions from the cathedral are ancient history, the dismantling phase of the scaffolding has begun, and “all the people who work there are enthusiastic and proud,” he said.
The “Mr. Restoration” also reflects on doubling the budget for the securing phase: since the first estimate covered a period up to the end of 2020, the new estimate provides for operations until 2021.
Referring to the kitty from which the cathedral should benefit, Jean-Louis Georgelin recalled the amount of 833 million euros in donations to which are added the 70 million still in “regrouping” with the Parisian departments and the town hall.
The renovation of the emblematic building of Paris enters a new phase in July, with the submission of the evaluation report drawn up by Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect. The latter, in favor of an identical restoration of the spire created by Viollet-le-Duc, had drawn the wrath of General Georgelin in November 2019: “he would have to shut his mouth” had then cracked the military.
However, on July 9, the members of the National Heritage and Architecture Commission, an advisory body, all voted in favor of an identical restoration of the spire. For the framework, the Commission requested oak and lead for the roof.
The President of the Republic reacted quickly by putting an end to the idea of the architectural competition for the design of the spire of Notre-Dame. This architectural competition, mentioned by its former Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, responded to Emmanuel Macron’s announcement the day after the disaster to support the reconstruction of the building with a contemporary architectural gesture.
The abandonment of the contemporary spire project allows the cathedral to reopen again in 2024.
