Thank you for your comments. I and many others were/are heartbroken to see what happened to Notre Dame. The world cares about places like this and she needs to be put back much as she was. Last time in Paris, I was within about a 10 minute walk and one of the first things I did was to walk around and admire this amazing building.
I know it will not be a fast project and I may never see her again, but I’m wishing all the best for this historic icon.
Well, she will never be like she was, exactly. Supposedly, we have enough old trees in France for the wood (if they go “wood”, almost have to since a new law was passed quite recently about restauration works), but they won’t be aged (dixit the panel on France Info). Her “innards” will probably be different, but basically the outside structure seems to be OK. Of course, we are only 2 days in. And her spirit will not have changed. Just a major operation, but she will be fine… 'cuz she’s still standing. Yeah yeah yeah.
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We mourn and told the story of our own Notre Dame visit, where we confused “tour” meaning “tower” in French with “tour” meaning “group of gawkers” in English and got out of breath climbing a narrow stone staircase … at that time open to the public … trying to catch up with the “tour” group. We have our memories of that trip, but our money went to the GoFundMe campaign for the 3 black churches in Louisiana that were torched by a white nationalist arsonist.
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One expert on France Info (all news station) at lunchtime here in Paris said that Macron’s 5 yr idea was more of a ‘cap’, first stage. The panel of experts talking about the restauration of ND said it will probably take around 2 yrs just for the evaluation. What with the new technologies, etc she will be restored much more quickly than people think. But yes, 5 yrs for a total operation of ND is a bit far-reached.
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Sorry… spelling errors (I hate them) : 1 milliard (no “s” because only one). Restauration is the French sp. Restoration is the En sp.
I was trying not to think about it too, and it was like hearing good medical news about a loved one who was in grave danger, just a rush of relief and gratitude.
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She’s going to be just fine 
. Again, to the tune of I’m still standing (Elton John) which I pulled up on my cellphone while waiting for the metro this morning : She’s still standing !!! yeah yeah yeah
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well, you are probably right…the churches burned in LOUSIANA were churches built by black people…apologizing for even mentioning the black people’s churches in the same sentence as the other one…and i’m almost sure the only art-work in the LOUISIANA churches was kids art work…probably not one chubby cherub depicted.
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I’m assuming the wood is for beams. They would probably be really large and have to come from huge trees, and probably dried for a year or two till they are useable. I’ll be checking to see how things are going. It will not be fast. Best wishes your way to a fabulous city.
That’s the problem. Beams not aged. The expert who is saving the another church in France said that they might not be aged enough (sorry, trying to translate into English). But this is what is so exciting… mixing new technologies with “old” technologies… These experts on France Info were so excited to be able to try to use centuries-old techniques with new techniques. And hopefully, as they said, the progress willl be televised. Extremely exciting. Weather will be good until next Tuesday (according to reports), so they can hopefully start protecting the insides and structure from rain. During the French Open (Tennis : Roland Garros) we have local showers. It is the rain that could damage the structure.
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All three of them?
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That’s what they say. You hesitate to say the word “miracle” but it’s pretty hard to believe.
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It’s so great the windows were spared but I’m really sorry about the spire. There will be some delicate tip toeing around to work in some of the areas.
Yes. All three. This was according to the Guardian yesterday.
The windows haven’t been inspected for more subtle damage, but they survived the fire. I passed this on to @tena yesterday since it was something we both were concerned about the day of the news.
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I don’t believe that they can find enough wood of the same length and quality needed to complete a perfect restoration. I believe they are going to need to use steel for the interior structure and encase the steel in wood to provide the original appearance. This can be built much faster than using only wood. They will need to use very good architects and engineers, but these people would be crazy to turn down the opportunity. Consider how it would look on a resume. 
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It’s not a zero sum, either/or proposition.
And not acknowledging the value of something almost a thousand years old that is enmeshed in the psyches of a lot of people is not a good look.
It’s a typical American attitude though.
Whoever will be chosen will be go down in history, like Viollet-le-Duc, though criticized, wanted to go “modern”… for the 19th century
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