Reconstruction of Notre-Dame: Remember the fire that destroyed the church

After five years of renovation, Notre-Dame Cathedral will reopen to the public. This will formally take place on December 7th, and the first public mass will be celebrated the following day.

The work cost France millions of euros and completing the restoration was a promise from President Emmanuel Macron.

The fire that destroyed part of the historic cathedral happened in April 2019, as Parisians watched the destruction in astonishment. Find out more below.

What was the fire at Notre-Dame like?

At 6:20 pm local time on April 15, 2019, the first fire alarms sounded at the historic Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

Shortly afterwards, the mass was interrupted and visitors were removed from the premises, but there was no immediate sign of fire.

After 23 minutes, the flames were seen. More than 400 firefighters were sent to the scene, but were delayed by traffic in the French capital during peak hours.

Police confirmed that a fire had broken out and asked the public to avoid the area.

Just before 8pm, the cathedral’s famous spire fell, as thousands of Parisians watched in horror.

Only the following morning were firefighters able to announce that the fire had been extinguished. According to authorities, if the fire lasted another half hour, the building would be completely destroyed.

The cause of the flames has not been determined, but Paris’ chief prosecutor said at the time that he believed it was likely started by accident.

Theories include that the fire could have been started by a cigarette or an electrical fault, while renovations that were underway at the time were also investigated.

“Project of the century”, says Macron

The reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral was the “project of the century”, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

The French leader spoke to the workers involved in the work on Friday (29), paying tribute to these people and thanking them.

“We have never seen a construction site like this. You all participated in the construction project of the century”, highlighted the French president.

Macron became emotional during his speech and highlighted that the employees “turned gray into art”.

“You guys did it. And this is an immense source of pride for the entire nation. I am infinitely grateful, France is infinitely grateful (for this),” he continued.

The cost of the work is estimated at 700 million euros (approximately R$4.5 billion at current prices), according to data from Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, a public body led by Philippe Jost, in charge of the restoration works of one of the largest historical landmarks in the world.

In total, 846 million euros (around R$5.4 billion at current prices) were raised through 340,000 donors from 150 countries.

This content was originally published in Reconstrução de Notre-Dame: Remember what the fire that destroyed the church was like on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil