Thanks to the thorough cleaning of all its interior spaces, made necessary by the fire, when the monument reopens the faithful and visitors alike discover a transformed cathedral because it recovered the full beauty and splendor of its sand-colored stone, the colors of its painted chapels and the luminosity of its stained-glass windows.
The cathedral also recovered its familiar silhouette thanks to its main attic, frameworks and roofing, and Viollet-le-Duc's vanished spire wich have been rebuilt.
The works enabling the complete and definitive reopening of the cathedral in 2024, after the main damage caused by the fire has been repaired, consisted of:
- The reconstruction of the collapsed vaults (in the nave, North arm of the transept, and the transept crossing), consolidation and replacement of stones weakened by the fire (coped walls, gable walls, and vaults of the nave, of the choir and of the two arms of the transept).
- The restoration of the main attic (oak frameworks and lead roofing of the nave, choir and the two arms of the transept, which vanished in the fire.
- Identical reconstruction of Viollet-le-Duc's spire, which vanished in the fire (oak framework and covering and lead adornments),
- In the North tower, restoration of the oak belfry, partially damaged by the fire, cleaning and restoration of the bells.
- Thorough cleaning – and restoration where necessary – of all interior spaces, stone walls (main nave, side aisles, galleries, chapels in the nave, ambulatory of the choir, sacristy) and painted decor of the choir chapels.
- Complete cleaning – and restoration where necessary – of the choir enclosure, floors, funerary monuments, the vow of Louis XIII, stalls, choir grilles and all the art furniture housed in the cathedral and the sacristy.
- Workshop restoration of stained-glass windows from the upper bays of the cathedral, which were taken down after the fire, and in situ cleaning of the other stained-glass windows.
- Workshop restoration of 22 large-sized paintings evacuated from the cathedral just after the fire, including 13 Mays.
- Complete repair of all technical installations in the cathedral, including fully redesigned fire protection, with a water spray system in the oak frameworks.
- Complete workshop cleaning of the great organ and reinstallation in the cathedral.
- In the Western end (narthex and towers), in association with the center for national monuments, works enabling the reopening of the tower visit circuit.
- For the choir organ, complete replacement of the instrument (the case being preserved and restored) and instrumental extension with a view to reinstalling it in 2025.
The program of works leading to the reopening of the cathedral in 2024 also included the diocese of Paris installing new liturgical furnishings to replace those previously installed in the 1980s/1990s that vanished in the fire, along with new chairs for the faithful. The diocese of Paris also installed interior lighting and a sound system adapted to the practice of Catholic services.
In terms of the time frame, the major stages of the restoration work comprised:
- Project studies conducted in 2020/2021, commissioned by the public establishment in charge of the restoration of the cathedral and carried out by the chief architects for historic monuments,
- Calls to tender enabling the public establishment, with the help of the architects, to select the companies and art workshops to whom the contracts will be awarded. In all, more than 100 work contracts will be required in order to cover all the interventions necessary for the restoration of the cathedral, with optimal definition of the exceptional skills and know-how required. Consistent with the scheduling of the works, the majority of these contracts were awarded between the fall of 2021 and the end of 2022.
- The completion of works commencing in the fall of 2021, first with specific dusting and vacuuming operations and treatment of the vaults, then cleaning the interior in the spring of 2022, followed by masonry and stonecutting work in May 2022, framework and roofing work beginning in the fall of 2022, works relative to technical installations beginning in early 2023. Works on a limited scale on the Western end began in the course of 2023.
The external parts of the monument spared by the fire, beginning with the chevet, the flying buttresses and Viollet-le-Duc's sacristy, still have to be restored. This work, which was already scheduled before the fire of 2019 due to the sorry state of the cathedral, began in 2025.
Main visual ©Patrick Zachmann – Magnum Photos / RNDP