The rooster flies into the azure sky on this Saturday afternoon. The crane slowly carries the bird covered in golden leaves. It remains suspended in the air for long minutes before carefully resuming its ascent to the top of the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Around the cathedral, the eyes of Parisians and tourists are fixed on this peak, enclosed in a steel scaffold. Then the applause finally erupts. It is 4:15 pm, a new rooster has taken its place at a height of 96 meters. “This is a highly symbolic moment of the cathedral’s recovery,” rejoices Philippe Jost, the senior official who took charge of the vast construction site after the sudden disappearance in August of General Jean-Louis Georgelin.
“A battered rooster tells the story of April 15, 2019”
A new milestone in the reconstruction of this monument, which partially burned during the fire on April 15, 2019. Now, another deadline is approaching in less than a year: the reopening to the public scheduled for December 8, 2024.
Last week, the President of the Republic visited the site exactly one year after the inauguration. He was able to climb to the top of the Viollet-le-Duc spire, which had been completely destroyed by the flames. Its assembly had just been completed. The pieces were transported one by one through the air, to the last metal part of the summit, composed of a cross and a crown.
But the rooster was still missing. The one that dominated the cathedral at the time of the fire had been found the day after the tragedy by the cathedral’s architect himself. “I climbed to the north tower with the firefighters and saw a green spot on the roof,” recalls Philippe Villeneuve. “I went back in the evening and came down with the rooster in my hands. I cried all I could.”
The damaged weathervane from 1937 is too damaged to be restored. It is now on display at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, before finding a place in the cathedral when it reopens. “This battered rooster tells the story of April 15, 2019,” emphasizes Philippe Villeneuve. “I couldn’t imagine making a copy.”
A parchment slipped inside
He then imagines a rooster “with wings of fire.” “It’s a phoenix,” he explains. It reminds us that a cathedral can also rise from its ashes. Two cavities have been dug in this 25 kg copper animal, about 90 cm high. They allowed the insertion of the relics of Saint Genevieve and Saint Denis, as well as one of the 70 thorns of the Holy Crown of Christ. Objects that were already present in the previous rooster. Now added is “a parchment” slipped into a lead tube, which contains the names of “all those who have worked directly or indirectly” on the reconstruction of the spire, including 250 companies.
“This rooster will be a witness for a long time to all those who have worked here,” rejoices the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, who blessed this “symbol of the announcement of the resurrection of Christ” before it took flight.
Emeline, on the other hand, did not expect to be “so moved.” She and her husband were passing through the capital on Saturday to visit their son. “We wanted to see how the Notre-Dame construction was going and we stumbled upon the installation of this rooster by chance,” she says. “I find it terribly moving. Whether you are a believer or not, we are all eagerly awaiting to see this cathedral rise again.”
While waiting for December 8, Notre-Dame lovers will soon see it shed a large part of its scaffolding. Those surrounding the spire are expected to descend a few meters in the coming weeks.
