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NOTRE DAME

‘We will be on time’ to reopen Paris’ Notre-Dame, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron promised on Friday that the restoration of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, badly damaged by fire in 2019, would be completed in time for its planned reopening next December.

Published: 8 December 2023 13:37 CET
'We will be on time' to reopen Paris' Notre-Dame, says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron walks inside the nave during a visit of the reconstruction work at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on December 8, 2023, one year to the day before the cathedral is due to reopen. Photo by SARAH MEYSSONNIER / POOL / AFP

“We will meet the deadline,” Macron told reporters while he inspected the site, exactly one year ahead of the scheduled date.

Macron had initially promised to have Notre Dame restored in time for the Paris Olympics next summer, but now the reopening date is December 8th 2024.

Restoration of the UNESCO-listed building, which had 12 million visitors a year, has hit several snags since people around the world watched aghast as its steeple crashed down in the blaze on April 15th, 2019.

Its new spire has now started to emerge against the French capital’s skyline and is expected to be fully completed when the city hosts the Olympics.

Behind the scaffolding, hundreds of workers are racing against the clock to restore the rest of the cathedral in time for it to reopen to the public on December 8th, 2024.

The monument’s new spire is identical to the previous one, designed by 19th-century architect Eugene Viollet-Le-Duc.

Its oak structure is to reach its full height of 96 metres (315 feet) by the end of the year.

It will then be covered in lead ornaments before the scaffolding is taken down.

The frames of the nave and the choir of the cathedral, which were also destroyed, are then due to be completed, after which the reconstruction of the roof can begin.

The initial five-year time frame was scrapped when rebuilding was delayed for months 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 lockdown in early 2020 to fight the spread of coronavirus.

More than five years after the blaze, three investigating judges are still looking into what sparked it. An initial inquiry pointed to it probably being an accident, with an electrical fault or a cigarette among the theories.

Macron said there would be a competition for the design of six contemporary stained-glass windows for the cathedral – the only “21st-century touch” to the monument, which will otherwise be rebuilt exactly as it was.

Macron also announced the creation of a museum in central Paris dedicated to Notre Dame, its history, its art “and its perpetual reconstruction”.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

The Paris Metro and RER stations that will close during the Olympics

If you're in Paris over the summer you may need to adapt your travel plans, as some Metro and RER stations will close during the Games.

Published: 26 April 2024 16:55 CEST
The Paris Metro and RER stations that will close during the Olympics

Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nuñez on Friday unveiled security measures for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games – including public transport changes.

Opening ceremony

Most of the transport disruption is linked to the ambitious opening ceremony on July 26th – with closures starting in the days leading up to the ceremony and stations re-opening either after the ceremony ends on Friday night or on the following Saturday morning.

These closures affect the ‘protection perimeter’ or the enhanced security zone along the riverbanks that form the route of the opening ceremony.

“All Metro stations leading into the protection perimeter will be closed from July 18th”, Nuñez revealed in a press conference devoted to the police and military arrangements in place for the grand ceremony.

“If you set up a watertight perimeter, but allow people to take the Metro and go back up in the middle of this perimeter, it’s no longer watertight,” he added. 

READ ALSO How to check for Paris Olympics disruption in your area

With the exception of Saint-Michel on the RER C line, all Metro and RER stations within the anti-terrorist protection perimeter will be closed eight days before the event, during which time authorities will be clearing the river, until after the opening ceremony on the Seine.

The various closures will have no impact on the operation of the lines, which will continue to run, as the Paris Police Prefect emphasised, they just won’t stop at those particular stations.

The 15 stations that will be closed are:

  • Alma Marceau (line 9)
  • Champs-Élysées Clémenceau (lines 1 and 13)
  • Cité (4)
  • Concorde (1, 8, 12)
  • Iéna (9)
  • Javel (10)
  • Passy (6)
  • Quai de la Râpée (5)
  • Trocadéro (6, 9)
  • Tuileries (1)
  • Champs-Élysées Clémenceau (RER C)
  • Musée d’Orsay (RER C)
  • Pont de l’Alma (RER C)
  • Trains on Line 7 will pass under the Seine without passengers between Châtelet (including line 11), Pont Marie, Pont Neuf and Sully Morland stations.

Buses are also affected.

“On the day of the ceremony, no buses will be allowed to circulate within the perimeter,” the Préfecture de Police said.

Buses will still run, but vehicles will be rerouted to avoid the area.

Rest of the Games period

Once the ceremony is over, most services will return to normal.

However some stations will remain closed for the duration of the Games – mainly those that are located within or next to competition venues.

Concorde station will be closed to users of line 1 and 8 from June 17th to September 21st and line 12 from May 17th to September 21st, due to its proximity to the site dedicated to urban sports. 

READ ALSO Factcheck: Which areas will be closed in Paris during the Olympics?

Tuileries, served by line 1, will be closed from June 17th to September 21st.

Finally, on lines 1 and 13, Champs-Élysées-Clémenceau will be closed from July 1st to September 21st.

Tramway stations will also be affected by the closures.

Starting with Porte d’Issy (T2) and Porte de Versailles (T2, T3a) tram stations will be closed from July 25th to August 11th and from August 29th to September 7th.

The Colette Besson station on the T3b line will also be closed from July 27th to August 10th, and again from August 29th to September 8th.

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