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FIRE

‘Thank goodness there is a happy end’: Rival TV series compete to tell story of Notre-Dame blaze

On the evening of April 15th 2019, France and the world watched transfixed in horror as flames ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, fearful that the heritage landmark could be lost to humanity forever.

'Thank goodness there is a happy end': Rival TV series compete to tell story of Notre-Dame blaze
Plumes of smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris. credit: FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP

While the spire collapsed and much of the roof was destroyed, the efforts of firefighters ensured the great mediaeval edifice survived the night. Yet the road to restoration has been long and arduous and it is only expected to return to its former glory in April 2024, five years after the fire.

The cause of the blaze remains a subject of uncertainty, although investigators are so far rejecting any idea of foul play and focusing on a
short-circuit or even a dropped cigarette as possible explanations.

With at least two TV dramas and one feature film in the pipeline about April 15, the drama of that night and the race to save the 850-year-old
building looks set to be further graven in the public memory.

It was President Emmanuel Macron who set the five-year restoration target in the immediate aftermath of the fire, which would mean the cathedral could be visited again when Paris hosts the 2024 summer Olympics.

“We are on course to return the cathedral for worship in 2024. But there is still a lot of work,” Jean-Louis Georgelin, the straight-talking former general handpicked by Macron to lead the restoration efforts, said last month.

The actual restoration work has yet to begin. Time up until now has been spent on securing the building, including the painstaking task of removing 40,000 pieces of scaffolding calcified in the fire.

This should be finished in the summer, allowing the full restoration works to begin early next year.

The aim is to celebrate the first full service in the restored cathedral on April 15, 2024, despite delays caused by the pandemic and the lead that filtered out during the blaze.

‘No certainty’

The drive is helped by some 833 million euros collected in a national and international donation campaign launched immediately after the fire, although this alone may not be enough to push the restoration over the finishing line.

Of that 70 million euros came from abroad, half of that sum from the United States.

Already, some 1,000 specially-selected oak trees are drying out to reconstruct the spire — which Macron had been tempted to replace with a modern touch but will now be rebuilt as it was — and the crossing of the transept.

The interior of the cathedral is today marked by a web of scaffolding, surrounded by nets and tarpaulins, where carpenters, rope workers, scaffolders and crane operators hurry around.

Along with hundreds of experts seeking to secure and restore the cathedral, investigators have also been at work in the probe to work out what caused the fire, sometimes using ropes to take samples high up in the building.

This phase has now been completed and a months-long process of analysis of all the evidence collected from the site will now begin, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

SEE ALSO: Macron gives blessing to recreate Notre-Dame’s gothic spire

Several shortcomings in the security of the cathedral were identified – in particular in the alarm system which meant that the alert to firefighters was late – and in the electrical system of one of the elevators.

Some one hundred witnesses were interviewed in the space of a two-month period alone.

But while an accident, possibly caused by a short circuit or discarded cigarette butt, remains the likely explanation, the sheer extent of the damage complicates drawing any conclusions.

“The way things stand now, it is not possible to say with certainty that we will one day be able to say what could have caused the fire,” warned the source, who asked not to be named.

‘Happy end’

But even as investigators try and piece together exactly what happened that fateful night, filmmakers are at work on dramatic reconstructions of the events.

Streaming giant Netflix is preparing a six-episode miniseries produced in cooperation with the Paris fire brigade which will look at the impact of the fire on different people across France.

A rival English-language series is also expected based on a major investigation into the fire carried out by the New York Times.

And French director Jean-Jacques Annaud, who made “The Name of the Rose”, has also started work on a feature film about the disaster which is expected in 2022 and will intersperse archive footage with drama.

“The main character, the star, is Notre-Dame,” he told AFP.

“It’s as if I am telling the story of a victim who is dying and the doctors don’t come… Thank goodness there is a happy end.”

IN PICTURES: Work starts on Notre-Dame to remove fire-damaged scaffolding

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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