An ephemeral and wooden cathedral to "replace" Notre Dame – 19/04/2019

The Notre-Dame cathedral It has not yet been evaluated for its damage and it will probably take much more than the five years promised by President Emmanuel Macron for its reconstruction. During all this time, a wooden "ephemeral cathedral" will replace it in the square in front of it.

This was announced by Bishop Patrick Chauvet, his rector, after having reached an agreement with the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.

"We can not say that the cathedral will be closed for five years and it's over," said the rector of the cathedral, who entered Macron's hand when Our Lady was on fire. "I thought, why can not I build an ephemeral cathedral in this square in front of me, I want a place that is beautiful," he said. "An attractive and symbolic place," he explained.

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For the rector, who helped save the treasures of the cathedral a human chain During the fire, the ephemeral cathedral will be "A meeting place where priests can talk".

"This will be used to welcome the curious and also the 13 million tourists who visit Notre Dame every year," he said. he will open quicklywhen they have access to the place it is always closed for the police investigation on the fire and for the fear of landslides.

In the municipal elections next year and as an aspirant, Mayor Hidalgo accepted immediately "Take the place" for the construction of a wooden cathedral. It will remain in place until the end of the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, whatever their duration.

The construction of the ephemeral cathedral will begin immediately after the design of the structure by a group of architects. Notre Dame is secure enough to allow access to nearby workers. Even access is very dangerous. The cathedral was not insured and, like all these basilicas and churches prior to the twentieth century, belongs to the French state.

The controversy over millionaire donations

Donations from major French companies for reconstruction spend 1,200 million euros. A caricature in a British newspaper shows the towers of Notre Dame with the logos of Chanel, Vuitton, Bouygues, Dior, Total. These are the names of the great fortunes of France, who donated in the early hours of the fire and who came in 48 hours to 1000 million euros. Defiscalisation is much criticized because it favors businessmen and wealthy businesses according to the law on favoritism. The families Pinault and Arnault refused to benefit despite criticism, while they gave 100 and 200 million respectively.

But there was thousands of small donations 2.5, 20 and 100 euros of anonymous people. They are the ones who say that if companies could add these astronomical numbers in minutes, why not donate to the poorest, refugees and 60,000 people sleeping under the stars in the streets of Paris and France.

They propose a symbolic reconstruction, with a flood of donations: that of the hospital of the Hotel de Dieu, founded in 651 BC. the oldest hospital in the world, next to the cathedral, whose fate has always been its foundation for the dispossessed and "homeless" of Paris. In the Middle Ages it was the only hospital in the capital and today, it has become a center of excellence in emergencies and ophthalmology.

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When the Rector of Notre Dame was questioned about this controversy over donations, Mgr Chauvet proposed to think about building a place "for the most diminished", in the image of what was the Hospital of the Hotel de Dieu, which borders the cathedral, so that Notre Dame is "a cathedral with a place of charity at its side", as it was historically, until the end of the day. that they begin to dismantle the old hospital to make it an emergency center of specialties. He also asked to grant the reconstruction work of the cathedral to young workers "Give work to a number of people who do not have it".

The reconstruction of Notre Dame will require roofers and pizarristas specialized in historical monuments, few in France, experts in stone and glbad. These are all formations that will be accelerated by the state to participate in the reconstruction.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited the Vatican Friday to discuss the reconstruction of the cathedral because Pope Francis offered the experience of medieval experts. At the same time, it will strengthen the invitation to France that President Emmanuel Macron made to the pontiff during his private audience in Rome.

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Paris, correspondent