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1 May 2019

An act of faith: resurrecting Notre Dame

President Macron’s promise to rebuild the cathedral within five years ignores the realities of restoration. 

By Michael Prodger

As the last wisps of smoke rose from the charred detritus tumbled in the nave of Notre Dame in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron addressed his nation: “We will rebuild Notre Dame, more beautiful than before,” he said, “and I want it done in the next five years. We can do it.” Anyone with any knowledge of what is involved in the restoration of a historic building, let alone one that has suffered such a catastrophic level of damage, is tempted to respond: “No we can’t.”

Macron’s sonorous words may have been good politics (not least because his five-year plan neatly coincides with the Paris Olympics in 2024) and a sign of the cathedral’s symbolic importance to the country. But those tasked with implementing them won’t thank the president for imposing such an unrealistic timescale – and the expectations that come with it ‒– upon them. Five years is a long time in politics but restoration is a painstaking business that doesn’t correspond to the Élysée cycle. More informed estimates see the rebuilding of Notre Dame as taking anything from ten to 40 years.

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