• The amount of the work will exceed one billion euros

there are "degrees" in the restoration but it will take a billion euros to restore Notre-Dame de Paris, said on France Inter, the world famous architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. However, "it is much too early to estimate the amount of damage caused by the fire", believes his side Ernesto Ottone, deputy director-general for culture of Unesco.

• Around a billion euros of promises of donations

The cost of the renovation should be covered by the donations promised by several large fortunes and companies for the reconstruction of the cathedral. On Wednesday, the promises of donations from anonymous businesses, and large fortunes French fry one billion euros, said Stéphane Bern on RMC.

" READ ALSO - Our file - Fire of Notre-Dame of Paris: the disaster

alone, the three largest fortunes in france - families Arnault, Bettencourt and Pinault - gave half a billion euros for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame. Remember that this generosity is encouraged by the French tax, which allows patrons to significantly reduce their taxes. The family Pinault, the majority shareholder of the group Kering, announced that it was abandoning any income tax benefit related to its gift of 100 million euros.

This spirit of solidarity should in any case cover the budget of the restoration.

● 5 to 20 years to rebuild the cathedral

"We must be able to rebuild that structure and that ceiling in 5 years", said Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening. However, this point of view is far from unanimous. The prognoses are highly variable. According to the tv host Stéphane Bern, in charge of the mission, and the lottery heritage, it will take "ten to twenty years minimum" to operate the complete restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris. For his part, the former Culture minister Jack Lang believes that "we need to give, not ten years, fifteen years, but three years". As for the assistant director-general for culture of Unesco, it considers that it is premature to know how long it will take to rebuild. However, what we can say is that France is better prepared than many other countries where such disasters have occurred. The inventories are updated, and the archive of 800 years of history are up to date. Thus, the early phases of reconstruction from the archives will be quick". Before you attack the work, it will still assessing the damage, to mediate on ways to proceed and on the tender. The preparatory work, cleaning, consolidation, drying will take time. According to the experts, the companies are competent, who have the necessary know-how, should be able to then carry out the restoration relatively quickly.

Recall that, in the nave, the timbers had been put in place between 1220 and 1240.

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• 1300 oak trees to rebuild the framework

It took 1300 oak to build the frame of the cathedral, eight centuries ago, which is equivalent to "at least 3000 cubic meters of wood", according to the group Charlois, the first French producer of oak wood. For its part, the insurer Groupama, institutional investor and land owner, has just "offered" 1300 old oak trees, taken in his forests in normandy, necessary for a reconstruction of the structure to the same. To be used for an identical reconstruction, the oak trees will have been planted in the later Nineteenth century. Composed of a tangle of massive beams of considerable size, several times renovated since the Twelfth century, the frame of Notre-Dame was, in fact, made of "oak Island-of-France" aged already 100 to 150 years old at the time of the construction of the building, according to Michel Druilhe, president of the interprofession France Wood Forest.

" READ ALSO - Notre-Dame: the actors of the French forest ready to rebuild the frame

However, there is no guarantee that the structure will be repeated identically. When the roof of the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims has been destroyed in 1914, it was rebuilt with a frame of reinforced concrete after 20 years of work. After a fire has devoured the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres, in 1836, the frame is in smoke and rebuilt, two years later, with a metal frame and a copper roof. More close in time, it is a metal frame that has been used to reconstruct the Parliament of Britain, building of the Seventeenth century, devastated by a fire in 1994.

• At least 450 artisans mobilized

The secretary-general of the Compagnons du devoir, Jean-Claude Bellanger alerted on "a lack of workforce in France by stonemasons, carpenters and roofers". "For the project of reconstruction, it is necessary that as early as September we recruited in learning 100 stone cutters, 150 carpenters and 200 roofers",

"the Companions of The duty form each year approximately 1,000 carpenters, 700 roofers and 450 stone masons," he said. Thus, without hiring additional companions trained, the influx of apprentices on the construction of Notre-Dame might come at the expense of other projects.

(With branches)

Our Lady : with what material the rebuild ? - Look on Figaro Live

Date Of Update: 18 April 2019, 00:00