With an avalanche of donations, they promise to rebuild Notre Dame in just five years – 16/04/2019

There are hundreds of French and tourists crossing bridges to watch Our Lady after the fire, under a gray sky. They advance en mbade in avenues, in the streets of Île Saint-Louis, which, a few steps from the cathedral, gives them this magnificent view of the "old lady" of Paris, wounded by the flames, but not beaten.

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And suddenly, the ovation. Seven firemen march towards the remains of the fire in uniform, a helmet in their hands, and this crowd applauds them, in a communion between them and the new heroes of France. A wave of solidarity moves the whole country and the world "The day after" in France. In just a few hours, they got 836 million euros for a reconstruction that will end in five years. A promise from President Emmanuel Macron, who met Tuesday night with a country in mourning.

"We are a city of builders, we are going to rebuild Yes, we are going to rebuild the cathedral of Our Lady even more beautiful, and I want it to be realized in five years, we can," said the President, in his solemn speech from the Eliseo Palace.

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A day after the start of the fire and after the firefighters managed to extinguish it in the middle of the night, the head of state spoke to all who are overwhelmed by the sadness of this world tragedy.

"French, French and all of you, foreigners who love France, I want to tell you that I share your pain, but I also share your hope, now we must do, we will act and we can do it," he said. he announced before saying goodbye to "Long live the Republic, Long live France".

Our Lady belongs to the state, like all cathedrals before the twentieth century in France. That's your insurer. But the benefactors who acted during these early hours are the richest men in the country. Pinault immediately donated $ 100 million of its investment fund. Arnault, owner of Louis Vuitton, Dior and other luxury companies, doubled with 200 million euros. L'Oreal and the Betancourt family have equaled it.

Total Petroleum contributed $ 100 million. But they are joined by the 50 million mayors of Paris, the regions, Apple, which has not yet announced its number, and thousands of small donors, who contribute as much as they can to the collection. National Heritage Foundation, which arrived late Tuesday at 136 million euros. These figures impress the French, who have never had good relations with millions: "And if they also help the poor? It would be ideal even if it is more discreet," asked Arlette answering the bridge while watching Cathedral.

A concert for reconstruction will be broadcast on French television Saturday. But these are not millions, but the immediate gesture of thousands of people, who saw in these torches that consumed Our Lady, that they burned "the soul of France". The witness of his history and his troubles, his disagreements, his reconciliations, his funerals and his joys.

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The "old lady" is still standing. On Tuesday, at dawn, he emerged in the light of day as a gray and Gothic specter, who still smoked but was firm in his basics. When the flames devoured it at dawn, no one believed in this image of resistance, historical architectural dignity. They saw it collapse the next day, like a gigantic spiritual emptiness. His roof was gone. The fall of the "Arrow" had flown two arches of the chapel in front of the altar, the two towers had been saved and their bells, as well as 30% of their treasures. But the structure resisted.

People began to wake up and come in droves because it made them stay firm, without being lowered by the infernal temperatures of the fire, the windows darkened by smoke but intact, with their rosettes burned but rebuilt. Even the rooster at the top of "the fleche" was found by one of the volunteers of the Heritage Foundation. The imposing and wounded but resistant, forced to bow before the Great Lady.

Catholics knelt and prayed. Some Muslims imitated them. Chinese tourists broadcast the scene live in Beijing. People did not stop coming but silently, their phones in hand, to represent the miracle that he was still standing. Police prevented access to the front of the cathedral for security reasons. Firefighters sometimes threw water on the roof to cool the monumental building.

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Our Lady showed that she had lived so many lives since the beginning of her construction in the 1600s. She would even support a modern and radical reform to remain an unchanging witness of history. A fire could be your new reincarnation to rebuild in the 21st century. Today is not 850 years ago. It has changed over time: with kings, with the revolution that decapitated its saints, with wars. Its eternal recycling will continue this historical process. Napoleon's coronation, funerals of the kings and François Mitterrand, weddings and baptisms, he accompanied with his life the swings of France and the world. A cathedral that writes history.

"Fires are like wars, they are used to discover and try new techniques, and that may be the likely fate of the old lady's reconstruction," said Jean Hubert, a former councilor for the Heritage Council. will oversee his new life.

"The fire was brutal.The" Arrow "fell to boiling over the vault of the cathedral and broke into two parts: the first when it broke, Then when the other party fell on another arches.So, the fire penetrated into the interior of Our Lady, near the altar and the first rows of benches. problem will be the water.It is that which destroys and damages the works of art.And what could not be saved are the great works.One ones that measure 100 meters, like those given each year by the best workers in France, "he explained.

The "fence", this fence surrounding the huge Gothic cathedral, containing images of the life of Christ made in the thirteenth century and a boiler of the eighteenth century, will be in jeopardy. But in France, there are qualified restaurateurs for this titanic reconstruction. "The problem is availability because they are full of work, and many cathedrals and churches are in bad shape," says Hubert.

Annie Charcuteleg, art historian, observes the damage of "the soul of France", leaning on the railing facing the river facing the blackened rose window of the cathedral. "I am not a believer but I am moved, they have kept the entrance to the cathedral, its three doors on the west facade, they have kept the rays of the bells because if they were due, everything would have fallen" , did he declare.

The politicians have decided to end the campaign for the European elections, as a sign of respect for the mourning of an entire people.