It’s been five years since a devastating fire heavily damaged the famed Notre-Dame cathedral, and now the Parisian landmark is finally about to reopen. Tourists and locals have long been waiting for the beloved church to return to its former splendor—something that couldn’t have been achieved without hundreds of workers. To truly capture all the effort that went into this project, French president Emmanuel Macron shared a photo showing all the people involved in the restoration of Notre-Dame.
The image was captured on Macron’s final site visit to the cathedral on November 29. He was joined by an estimated 2,000 craftspeople, architects, carpenters, restorers, painters, roofers, foundry-workers, art experts, masons, sculptors, engineers, and technicians who worked together to make Notre-Dame shine again.
These skilled laborers are known as compagnons, a shorthand for a French organization called the Compagnons du Devoir, which translates to “Companions of Duty.” This group of craftsmen and artisans, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, aims to keep medieval skills like stone carving, marble marquetry, and iron forging alive. The Notre-Dame restoration has put many of these crafts in the spotlight, inspiring many young people to take up apprenticeships in these centuries-old fields.
The workers have been lauded for not only undoing the effects of the 2019 fire, but also for performing a thorough clean up, which had not been done since the last major restoration in the mid-19th century. No element of the cathedral was overlooked, from the massive stone walls and brand new roof timbers to the organ’s 8,000 recently calibrated pipes.
Under a law of 1905, Notre-Dame belongs to the French state, with the Catholic Church its “assigned user.” As such, the restoration efforts were overseen by the government. The $737 million operation was funded both by big sponsors and thousands of small donors.
“The blaze at Notre-Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment,” Macron told the workers in a speech at the cathedral ahead of the reopening. “I am so deeply grateful, France is so deeply grateful,” he added. “You have brought Notre-Dame back.”
French president Emmanuel Macron shared a picture showing all the people involved in the restoration of Notre-Dame.
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“I am so deeply grateful, France is so deeply grateful,” the president said. “You have brought Notre-Dame back”.
Cette Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris est le trésor de femmes et d’hommes, toutes et tous nécessaires, chacun avec son rôle, métaphore de la vie de la Nation. pic.twitter.com/6IOVRRSVBY
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 29, 2024
Take a look at the beautiful revitalized interiors of Notre-Dame.
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