Notre Dame Cathedral is now the target of a literal attempt to “rebuild better” after French leaders called for a “21st century mark” to be added with a competition to redesign prominent features.
On December 8, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the famous cathedral's restoration effort, marking the one-year countdown to its scheduled completion following the April 2019 fire. That's when the progressive leader announced plans to include a contemporary twist on the landmark through a design competition.
“I fully support it [the idea],” Macron told reporters about the request from the Archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Laurent Ulrich, who was appointed to the position in 2022 by Pope Francis.
The intention, as detailed by the National Catholic Reporter, is to “replace current non-figurative (abstract) stained glass.” Specifically, six windows representing the Viollet-le-Duc period, named after the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, responsible for the restoration of the cathedral and other 19th-century monuments, would be moved to a nearby museum of Notre Dame, giving way. for substitutes.
“The century that is ours will have its place among others that appear in the works of this cathedral,” Macron said.
With the original goal of reopening the cathedral in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics not due to delays, the president assured of the December 8, 2024 target: “The deadlines will be met. It's a formidable picture of hope and of a France that has been rebuilt”.
During the visit, he climbed the newly reinstalled spire and shared a picture of his renovation at X with the caption, “get your spire back!”
Notre-Dame finds her arrow! pic.twitter.com/qRl6LissYV
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 8, 2023
Speaking to the press at the ceremony, Macron said: “Since April 2019, the whole nation has been rebuilt. And it's very emotional to be here a year earlier. You can see the extraordinary progression of the works of this ship, of the heart and of the frames and of the needle”.
“This is an important and emotional moment,” he added.
Before, it had been reported that the French Senate had passed a restoration bill shortly after the initial devastation that required the cathedral to be returned to its “last known visual state.”
Even then, Macron's pledge to restore the structure within five years included a promise to leave it “more beautiful than before” with an “inventive” design. At the time, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe had also called a design competition and said: “The international competition will allow us to ask ourselves whether we should recreate the needle as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc. Or if, as often happens during the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire that reflects the techniques and challenges of our time.”
According to one request competing to restore the cathedral as it was, “This project undermines the historical integrity of this thousand-year-old monument that is the pride of our capital and remains a living testament to the technical genius and prestigious past of our country. This request is intended to be apolitical and simply aims to avoid an artistic massacre that is at risk with this new initiative.”
Another request which had collected thousands of signatures said: “Contrary to what some would have us believe, heritage advocates are not systematically opposed to contemporary art.”
Others took to social media with their displeasure at the move.
Maybe this will help focus people on the cover up of the real story, of the previous civilizations that built these buildings around the world. Learn about Tartaria and similar “conspiracy theories”.
— mannyoda (@mannyoda) December 13, 2023
No. Just no
— John McKenzie (@jmckenzie624) December 13, 2023
It will be abstract shit, like the modern replacement windows in Reims Cathedral. Modern artists have forgotten God and forgotten how to make beautiful things. pic.twitter.com/cLRUbidtsx
— bcmd (@CotnerMD) December 13, 2023
Why should a secular weasel like Macron have any say in what the stained glass windows of a Catholic cathedral are?
— California Dreamin' (@TheStevenAlves) December 13, 2023
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you're sick of letting radical tech execs, bogus fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals, and the lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news, consider donating to BPR to help us fight back them. Now is the time. The truth has never been more critical!
Success! Thanks for donating. Please share BPR content to help fight lies.
We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.
English 
Español de Venezuela 