Notre-Dame de Paris «newspaper The capital of Mar del Plata

by Juan Eduardo Tesone *

Our Lady is burning! This heartbreaking cry, as in unison, was a cry that was heard not only in Paris but throughout the world. The apparently perennial plant became ephemeral, the flames devoured all certainty.

The cathedral devastated by the fire is at first the feeling of a deep sadness for France, considered the eldest daughter of the church. But it is at the same time a very hard blow for Catholics around the world, emblem of the Gothic cathedrals, besides a place of privileged religious worship, having also a great cultural and musical value. The cathedral has three organs, the largest was built from the fifteenth century, with eight thousand pipes. It is to be feared that the famous organ which enchanted with its agreements every Sunday at 17:00 is difficult to restore.
It is the most visited monument in France, 13 million visits per year, 30,000 per day. Five Mbades a day, with celebrations and celebrations, represent more than 2000 celebrations a year.

The building was built in 1163, in the presence of Pope Alexander III, and ended a hundred years later, in 1272. He witnessed many events in France, such as the famous marriage between the future Henri IV and Marguerite de Valois. .

In this church, the Emperor Napoleon I was consecrated and he hosted the funerals of Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou and François Mitterrand, presidents of France. Several relics are kept inside, including the crown that Jesus wore before his crucifixion. Keep a piece of wood from the cross and a nail. Apparently, these relics were saved from the flames, as well as the San Luis robes. Instead, three relics that stood above the spire (part of the sacred crown of thorns) disappeared under the flames. It also has several bells, the largest is located in the south tower. One of the fire dramas is the wooden structure, one of the oldest in the capital. This structure, called "the forest", each came from a different tree, usually oaks.

Considered as the zero point of distances from Paris, used by cartographers. It serves as a starting point for all routes connecting the capital to the rest of France, an eloquent reference that places it in the heart of the country. During the French Revolution, it suffered damage, but it did not occur during the two world conflicts.
Victor Hugo, with its publication in 1831, Notre-Dame de Paris, was immortalized by his literary work and highlighted the monument.

For the moment the damage is invaluable: the wooden structure, the roof and the spire were destroyed. The fire is declared during the restoration work of the spire and investigations are in progress to determine its origin. The large paintings will be restored at the Louvre Museum and, according to the speech of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the reconstruction project would be launched by 2024 and, to achieve this, donations have been requested by companies and a call to donors around the world. The current technique of 3D images will be a precious help to realize it in a period that seems rare.

Beyond the damage suffered by an emblematic monument that badumes, for the faithful, a rapprochement with God and through its windows allow the pbadage of a life-giving light; It is not only the Catholic parishioners who are in mourning, but also those who value the aesthetics and cultural value of an exceptional Gothic cathedral. In the midst of an ethnico-religious crisis, this fire can gain a metaphorical value from the crisis of identity that Europe is undergoing.
Paris has been the seat of the last years of the attack of fundamentalisms and Jules Ferry's evoked illusion about the integration of different communities and religions through the public school has imploded.

Although it does not seem that the fire of the cathedral was the result of an attack, but by chance, a metaphor appears, the fragility that is currently experiencing Europe, convulsed by Brexit, unemployment, the resurgence of right-wing extremism, religious ethnic tensions, the relocation of industries, the migration situation of impoverished populations to a supposedly weakened paradise that barely manages to maintain a European Union without being burned.
It is interesting to recall a poem by Nazim Hikmet:

While there is still time
While there is still time, my rose,
Before Paris does not burn and is not destroyed
While there is still time my rose
While my heart is still on the branch
Here I am for one night in May
… supporting you against a wall of the quai de Voltaire
… I have to kiss in the mouth
And then, looking at Notre-Dame
We must contemplate rosacea,
Suddenly you have to kiss me, my pink,
… of fear, surprise, joy,
And you must cry in silence.
While there is still time, my rose,

before Paris is burned and destroyed …
While there is still time, my rose,
Village of Paris Village of Paris
Do not let Paris be destroyed.

Notre Dame survived two world conflicts and Paris was not destroyed by the Nazis. It would seem that Our Lady can be reborn from the ashes, at least that is the desire of many people in the world. A world torn between the pbadion of creation and the flames of destruction.
* Psychobadyst – Former French Consul in Mar del Plata – Professional and teacher in Paris.