Charred scaffolding getting removed as restoration in Notre Dame begins
Work begins!
The scaffolding had been erected for renovation work on the cathedral's old spire before the fire engulfed the major tourist attraction on April 15, 2019, destroying the spire and the roof in a disaster that stunned the nation.
Operation delayed due to pandemic
The operation, delayed from mid-March by the new coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown, is an important step in the restoration of the cathedral that French President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild within five years.
Ropes and harnesses used!
Two teams of five workers will use ropes and harnesses to remove the now-tangled metal poles. They will be equipped with sabre saws to cut through the 40,000 pieces of scaffolding. An 84-metre-high crane will then lower the pieces to the ground.
Workers don face masks
On Monday workers wearing hard-hats and face masks installed the final safety nets.
"It's the last check-up before open-heart surgery. The rope workers will swing from tube to tube to cut up the scaffolding", Christophe-Charles Rousselot of the Notre-Dame Foundation told Reuters.
'Extremely complicated'
"It is an extremely complicated, very delicate operation that has been prepared for months," he said, adding it would take all summer to complete.
The main bell towers, outer walls and much of the vaulted ceiling of the cathedral survived last year's blaze, along with religious relics and artworks housed within.
Notre Dame
Jean-Louis Georgelin was hired to restore Notre-Dame Cathedral to its former glory
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