Notre Dame cathedral is still under threat of collapse

In the aftermath of the devastating fire that brought down Notre Dame’s spire and seriously damaged its roof, there’s been quite a bit of back and forth about the rebuilding process – how best to handle the cleanup, what materials should be used in the reconstruction, and whether the design should be a historically faithful recreation or reflect a modern sensibility, to name just a few. But whether or not the Paris cathedral is still in danger is one question that hadn’t been addressed – until recently.

Though French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said he wants Notre Dame to be completely rebuilt within five years – in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024, the landmark might not be out of the woods yet. As the cathedral’s rector told AP reporters, scaffolding erected before the fire is now putting the vaults in existential peril.

At Christmas Eve midnight mass – the first time in centuries the service was held at a different church – Monsignor Patrick Chauvet told the AP, “today we can say that there is maybe a 50% chance that it will be saved. There is also 50% chance of scaffolding falling onto the three vaults, so as you can see the building is still very fragile.”

According to architect Francesco Bandarin, that’s because the “scaffolding structure at roof level... became fused by the intense heat” and will require a complicated removal process – “three levels of steel beams to be positioned around its exterior to form a stabilising ‘belt’” and “telescopic crawler cranes that will allow roped technicians to descend into the forest of pipes and gradually cut them away” – before the building’s long-term safety can be assured.

That work should be completed by April, the former Unesco World Heritage Centre director wrote for the Art Newspaper, then a new temporary roof will be built over the cathedral and temporary scaffolding will be installed in the nave, the choir, and the aisles to facilitate “the restoration of the vaults and the reconstruction of the roof.”

Monsignor Chauvet told the AP that the restoration would likely begin in 2021, at which point the plan for the cathedral’s new look should be more clear. In July, when French members of Parliament finally approved a law on the reconstruction, government officials emphasised that this was only the beginning. "The hardest thing is now ahead of us,” international news channel France 24 quotes culture minister Franck Riester as saying. “We need to strengthen the cathedral forever and then... give Notre-Dame a restoration appropriate for the place it has in the hearts of the French people and in the entire world.”