Here are some controversies ahead of Notre Dame de Paris’ reopening

Images of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral – one of France’s most emblematic cultural sites – up in flames back in 2019, sent shockwaves across the nation. French President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to rebuild the Cathedral within five years was met with scepticism by industry experts. But now, that moment is soon to become a reality.

On 7 December, around 2,000 people will attend the monument’s reopening, alongside the French President, who stated in an interview with French broadcast France 2 that he would invite Pope Francis to the event.

Nevertheless, the process leading up to this reopening has had its hiccups.

August 2023: General Georgelin dies

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who was given the immense task of overseeing the Cathedral’s renovations, died in a mountain accident in August 2023.

The former French Army general and Chief of the Defence Staff was not one to mince his words. At the end of 2019, during a hearing held before the National Assembly’s Cultural Affairs Committee, he was asked about the reconstruction of Notre Dame’s spire which was destroyed in the fire.

Georgelin – who had been bickering with the project’s chief architect, Philippe Villeneuve – referred to Villeneuve by saying: “Let him shut his mouth and we’ll move forward with wisdom!”.

December 2023: Macron under fire for modern windows

When French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Notre Dame de Paris’ original stained glass windows would be replaced with contemporary creations, he was not prepared for the level of opposition his plans would face.

Macron has insisted that these new windows – which are set to be installed 2026 – will bring a touch of the 21st century to the historic monument.

The original stained glass windows – commissioned by French architects Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) and Jean-Baptiste Lassus (1807-1857) – were not damaged in the fire. Despite this, Macron announced a proposal to replace six out of seven windows, located in the Cathedral’s south aisle, with contemporary creations.

This decision is believed to have in part been pushed by a letter sent by the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich to Emmanuel Macron last December. Inside it, Ulrich wrote that he hoped “one day soon we will be able to see some new stained glass windows in one of the chapels.”

Under Macron’s plans, the original windows will be relocated to a new museum dedicated to Notre-Dame’s restoration, while the contemporary window designs selected through a competition open to artists.

French cultural figures bodies were quick to react. In December, French newspaper La Tribune de l’Art launched a petition against the move, which has since amassed over 230,000 signatures. In July, the French National Commission for Heritage and Architecture also unanimously came out against replacing the stained glass windows.

The Commission may have an advisory role, but it cited the Venice Charter to justify its position. This text, signed by France in 1964, prohibits replacing well-preserved historic features with modern ones.

Despite firm opposition, the French Ministry of Culture issued a press release in September naming the eight artists who were pre-selected to design the new windows. They had until the 4 November to submit their entries.

It is now up to a committee chaired by Bernard Blistène, the former director of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, to choose the winning design. Macron and the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich are set to announce the results in time for the cathedral’s grand reopening. 

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October 2024: An unprecedented entry fee is announced

A storm has also been brewing since French culture minister, Rachida Dati, suggested that tourists visiting the Paris cathedral should pay a €5 entrance fee.

Dati has presented this fee as a means of helping to preserve the country’s crumbling churches, estimating that it would generate up to €75 million annually.

According to the Observatoire du Patrimoine Religieux, 2,500 to 5,000 religious sites face the risk of being abandoned, sold or destroyed by 2030.

The Diocese of Paris, which is responsible for the building has made it clear that it firmly opposes the idea. In a press release, it reiterated that Catholic churches in France should remain free of charge.

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“Other avenues can be explored, over the one that consists of taxing visitors to Notre-Dame, for a price that is by no means anecdotal and would inevitably lead people to give up visiting a cathedral that is by nature open to all”, the statement read.

Former French socialist President François Hollande stated in an interview on broadcaster France 5 that “it is not possible to charge admission to Notre-Dame, both for reasons of principle and practicality.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Bardella, leader of the French far-right National Rally Party expressed his support for the measure. “The history of France has been shaped by Christianity. Today, seeing our churches falling into ruin hurts many French people. (…) I think it would be useful to mobilise all the nation’s vital forces to enable this reconstruction to take place”, he said in an interview with French broadcaster France 2.

France has sought to raise funds to tackle dwindling funds for the upkeep of its religious sites. One of these initiatives is the “Loto du patrimoine” fund, run by the Fondation du patrimoine and supported by the French Ministry of Culture. This fund is used to restore local heritage sites, raising almost €155 million for 950 sites since its launch.

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November 2024: Three new bells

In mid-November, the Gothic landmark took delivery of three new bells, including one that was used in the city’s Stade de France stadium during the Paris Olympic Games.

The Olympic bell, a gift from the Paris 2024 organising committee, will be installed alongside two smaller bells, named Chiara and Carlos, above the altar where they will be rung during Mass, officials said. Their arrival ahead of Notre Dame’s reopening on 8 December marks a milestone in the painstaking restoration and modernisation of the 861-year-old cathedral, made famous around the world by Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of Notre Dame, expressed gratitude for the bells’ arrival during a ceremony. “What a joy it is,” he said. “At the most important moment of the Mass these bells will ring, just as they did when the victor of a competition could celebrate their victory.”