Published on 12/02/2024 20:47
Video duration: 4 min
Notre-Dame de Paris: the cathedral spire finally unveiled
The spire of Notre-Dame is once again visible in the Paris sky. The famous work of Viollet-le-Duc, which collapsed in the April 2019 fire, has been rebuilt identically.
Parisians and tourists can once again admire the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris on Monday, February 12. For the first time since the fire, the top of the needle, surmounted by a rooster, appeared at the top of the cathedral. A few days earlier, a France Télévisons team climbed to the roof of Notre-Dame to observe the spire just before dismantling the scaffolding. The roofing artisans have placed the lead ornaments on the needle. The top of the spire stands again, at 96 meters high, almost five years after its collapse in the fire. A framework dressed in lead
The spire has been rebuilt identically based on the model erected by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, in solid oak… But not for long. “This masterpiece of carpentry will be completely dressed in lead,” says Julien Le Bras, president of the Les Bras Frère group. The lead covering and ornaments are manufactured in workshops in Lorraine. The lead is melted and cast using traditional techniques. The hand-cut sheets then conform to the shapes of the wood like a second skin. The advantage? “Perfect waterproofing,” explains Émile-Armand Benoît, roofer.
