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A petition, which has garnered thousands of signatures, challenges a restoration supported by Macron, which proposes incorporating contemporary design into the historic Notre-Dame cathedral.
ADVERTISEMENTEmmanuel Macron’s plans to modernise the age-old Notre-Dame Cathederal’s chapel windows, created by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1859, with contemporary stained glass artworks, have ignited heavy criticism across France.
Although the original windows survived the dramatic 2019 fire that ravaged the church’s roof and iconic spire, the French President announced during a visit to the 13th-century cathedral last month, his proposal to relocate them to a new museum dedicated to Notre-Dame’s restoration.
He also proposed inviting contemporary French artists to submit designs for new windows in six of the seven chapels along the church’s south aisle.
Online opposition
Over 125,000 people have expressed their opposition to the plans through an online petition, which emerged just two days after Macron’s announcement.
“How can we justify restoring stained glass windows that survived the disaster and then immediately remove them? Who gave the head of state the mandate to alter a cathedral that does not belong to him, but to everyone,” the letter, published by La Tribune de l’Art, emphasises.
It continues: “Emmanuel Macron wants to put the mark of the 21st century on Notre-Dame de Paris. A little modesty might be best. We will not be cruel enough to remind you that this mark already exists: fire.”
Didier Rykner, the creator of the petition and editor of La Tribune de l’Art, suggested that a more fitting contemporary tribute would be to commission new windows for the north tower of the cathedral, where damage from the fire was much more severe.
The reopening of the cathedral is scheduled for 8 December 2024, and will undergo ongoing minor renovations until 2028.
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