The senator asserts that no evaluation has been carried out by the State regarding the health risks associated with the use of lead for the reconstruction of the roof and the spire. She denounces health risks. Europe Ecologie-Les Verts senator for Paris and spokesperson for the EELV group in the Senate, Anne Souyris, demands “the suspension of the construction” of Notre-Dame de Paris, due to the use of lead for the reconstruction of the cathedral’s spire.
In a message posted on Thursday, November 30th on her X account (formerly Twitter), the senator mentions the “health risks of installing more than 500 tons of lead on the cathedral,” stating that no evaluation of these risks has been mandated by the State. A question to the Minister of Culture
Anne Souyris explains that she went to the cathedral on Thursday morning with several associations and unions, “to reaffirm (her) firm stance against this project dangerous for public health.” “Even the architect Viollet-le-Duc opposed the use of toxic materials in the restoration of historical monuments,” she writes, recalling that “lead kills 5 million people a year worldwide.”
At the beginning of November, the senator had already sent a written question to the Minister of Culture regarding the use of lead in the restorations of the cathedral, which was devastated by a fire in 2019. “In the event that no serious evaluation has been carried out to date, I ask for the urgent interruption of the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral until a health authority issues a detailed opinion,” she wrote. In recent days, the silhouette of the spire is now visible at the top of the cathedral’s scaffolding. The structure of the spire still needs to be covered and adorned in the coming days. The reopening of the cathedral is not scheduled until December 8, 2024.
