Editing Notre-Dame de Paris (section)

==History==
[[File:Plan Notre Dame cathédrale primitive.svg|thumb|right|Outline of the primitive Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 1150, on the spot of the [[Nave (architecture)|nave]], the [[transept]] and the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] of the current building. The [[Cathedral of Saint Étienne, Paris|Cathedral of Saint Étienne]] was located to the west, at the level of today's [[Parvise|parvis]].]]
[[File:Notre-Dame of Paris - A Sketch of the Contruction Sequence.webm|thumb|Construction sequence from 12th century to present-day, created by [[Stephen Murray (historian)|Stephen Murray]] and Myles Zhang]]

It is believed that before the arrival of [[Christianity in France]], a [[Gallo-Roman]] temple dedicated to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] stood on the site of Notre-Dame. Evidence for this includes the [[Pillar of the Boatmen]], discovered beneath the cathedral in 1710. In the 4th or 5th century, a large early Christian church, the [[Cathedral of Saint Étienne, Paris|Cathedral of Saint Étienne]], was built on the site, close to the royal palace.{{Sfn|Lours|2018|p=292}} The entrance was situated about {{convert|40|m|ft}} west of the present west front of Notre-Dame, and the apse was located about where the west façade is today. It was roughly half the size of the later Notre-Dame, {{convert|70|m|ft}} long—and separated into [[Nave (architecture)|nave]] and four [[aisle]]s by marble columns, then decorated with [[mosaic]]s.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/><ref name="premieres">{{cite web|title=Notre-Dame de Paris. Une des premières cathédrales gothiques de France|url=https://www.andurand.net/HdA/seconde/moyen%20age/gothique/notre%20dame%20paris.pdf|language=fr|access-date=2025-01-06|archive-date=2025-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103101631/https://www.andurand.net/HdA/seconde/moyen%20age/gothique/notre%20dame%20paris.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The last church before the cathedral of Notre-Dame was a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] remodelling of Saint-Étienne that, although enlarged and remodelled, was found to be unfit for the growing population of Paris.<ref name=lepoint>{{cite magazine|last=Fourny|first=Marc|title=Les dix secrets de Notre-Dame de Paris|language=fr|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/culture/les-dix-secrets-de-notre-dame-de-paris-12-12-2012-1561105_3.php|magazine=[[Le Point]]|date=12 December 2012|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809181752/http://www.lepoint.fr/culture/les-dix-secrets-de-notre-dame-de-paris-12-12-2012-1561105_3.php|archive-date=9 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|The growth of the population of [[Paris]] and other French cities was characteristic of Western Europe during the [[Renaissance of the 12th century]]. It is thought that the population of Paris grew from 25,000 in 1180 to 50,000 in 1220, making it the largest European city outside of Italy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paris à l'époque de Philippe Auguste|language=fr|url=https://philippe-auguste.com/ville/maisons.html|website=philippe-auguste.com|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820122443/http://philippe-auguste.com/ville/maisons.html|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>}} A [[baptistery]], the [[Church of Saint-Jean-le-Rond, Paris|Church of Saint-John-le-Rond]], built about 452, was located on the north side of the west front of Notre-Dame until the work of [[Jacques-Germain Soufflot]] in the 18th century.<ref name="rouche">{{citation |last=Rouche |first=Michel |title=Jubilé de cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris – La symbolique des cathédrales : approche historique, religieuse, sociale |date=19 December 2012 |work=La voix est libre |publisher=Radio Notre-Dame |language=fr}}.</ref>

In 1160, the [[bishop of Paris]], [[Maurice de Sully]],<ref name=rouche/> decided to build a new and much larger church. He summarily demolished the earlier cathedral and recycled its materials.<ref name=lepoint/> Sully decided that the new church should be built in the [[French Gothic architecture|Gothic style]], which had been inaugurated at the royal abbey of Saint Denis in the late 1130s.<ref name="premieres"/>

===Construction===
The chronicler {{ill|Jean de Saint-Victor (chronicler)|fr|Jean de Saint-Victor (chroniqueur)|lt=Jean de Saint-Victor}} recorded in the ''Memorial Historiarum'' that the construction of Notre-Dame began between 24 March and 25 April 1163 with the laying of the [[cornerstone]] in the presence of [[King Louis VII]] and [[Pope Alexander III]].{{sfn|de Villefosse|1980|p=25}}{{sfn|Henriet|2005|p=294}} Four phases of construction took place under bishops Maurice de Sully and [[Eudes de Sully]] (not related to Maurice), according to masters whose names have been lost. Analysis of vault stones that fell in the 2019 fire shows that they were quarried in [[Vexin]], a county northwest of Paris, and presumably brought up the Seine by boat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lesté-Lasserre |first1=Christa |title=Scientists are leading Notre Dame's restoration—and probing mysteries laid bare by its devastating fire |journal=Science |date=12 March 2020 |doi=10.1126/science.abb6744}}</ref>

[[File:Coupe.transversale.cathedrale.Paris.png|thumb|left|Cross-section of the double supporting arches and buttresses of the [[nave]], drawn by [[Eugène Viollet-le-Duc]] as they would have appeared from 1220 to 1230{{sfn|Viollet-le-Duc|1868|p=288}}]]

The first phase began with the construction of the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] and its two [[ambulatory|ambulatories]]. According to [[Robert of Torigni]], the choir was completed in 1177 and the [[high altar]] consecrated on 19 May 1182 by [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] [[Henry of Marcy|Henri de Château-Marçay]], the [[Papal legate]] in Paris, and Maurice de Sully.{{sfn|Delisle|1873|p=68}}{{Failed verification|date=January 2022}} The second phase, from 1182 to 1190, concerned the construction of the four sections of the nave behind the choir and its aisles to the height of the [[clerestories]]. It began after the completion of the choir but ended before the final allotted section of the nave was finished. Beginning in 1190, the bases of the façade were put in place, and the first traverses were completed.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/> Patriarch [[Heraclius of Jerusalem]] called for the [[Third Crusade]] in 1185 from the still-incomplete cathedral.

[[Louis IX]] deposited the [[Relics associated with Jesus|relics of the passion of Christ]], which included the [[crown of thorns]], a nail from the [[True Cross]] and a sliver of the True Cross, which he had purchased at great expense from the [[Latin Emperor]] [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]], in the cathedral during the construction of the [[Sainte-Chapelle]]. An [[Shirt of Saint Louis|under-shirt]], believed to have belonged to Louis, was added to the collection of relics at some time after his death.

[[Transepts]] were added at the choir, where the altar was located, in order to bring more light into the centre of the church. The use of simpler four-part rather than six-part rib vaults meant that the roofs were stronger and could be higher. After Bishop Maurice de Sully's death in 1196, his successor, Eudes de Sully oversaw the completion of the transepts, and continued work on the [[nave]], which was nearing completion at the time of his death in 1208. By this time, the western façade was already largely built; it was completed around the mid-1240s. Between 1225 and 1250 the upper gallery of the nave was constructed, along with the two towers on the west façade.{{sfn|Bruzelius|1987|pp=540–69}}

[[File:Notre-Dame de Paris composite transverse section.svg|thumb|Arrows show forces in vault and current flying buttresses ([[:commons:File:Notre-Dame de Paris composite transverse section.svg|detailed description]])]]

Another significant change came in the mid-13th century, when the transepts were remodelled in the latest [[Rayonnant]] style; in the late 1240s [[Jean de Chelles]] added a gabled portal to the north transept topped by a spectacular rose window. Shortly afterward (from 1258) [[Peter of Montereau|Pierre de Montreuil]] executed a similar scheme on the southern transept. Both these transept portals were richly embellished with sculpture; the south portal depicts scenes from the lives of [[Saint Stephen]] and of various local saints, and the north portal featured the infancy of Christ and the story of Theophilus in the [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]], with a highly influential statue of the Virgin and Child in the [[Trumeau (architecture)|trumeau]].{{sfn|Williamson|1995}}{{sfn|Bruzelius|1987|pp=540–69}} Master builders [[Pierre de Chelles]], {{ill|Jean Ravy|fr}}, Jean le Bouteiller, and {{ill|Raymond du Temple|fr}} succeeded de Chelles and de Montreuil and then each other in the construction of the cathedral. Ravy completed de Chelles's [[rood screen]] and chevet chapels, then began the {{convert|15|m|ft|adj=on}} flying buttresses of the choir. Jean le Bouteiller, Ravy's nephew, succeeded him in 1344 and was himself replaced on his death in 1363 by his deputy, Raymond du Temple.

[[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair]] opened the first [[Estates General (France)|Estates General]] in the cathedral in 1302.

An important innovation in the 13th century was the introduction of the [[flying buttress]]. Before the buttresses, all of the weight of the roof pressed outward and down to the walls, and the abutments supporting them. With the flying buttress, the weight was carried by the ribs of the vault entirely outside the structure to a series of counter-supports, which were topped with stone pinnacles which gave them greater weight. The buttresses meant that the walls could be higher and thinner, and could have larger windows. The date of the first buttresses is not known with precision beyond an installation date in the 13th century. Art historian [[Andrew Tallon]] has argued, based on detailed laser scans of the entire structure, that the buttresses were part of the original design. According to Tallon, the scans indicate that "the upper part of the building has not moved one smidgen in 800 years,"<ref name=Tallon>{{cite magazine|last=Shea|first=Rachel Hartigan|date=16 April 2019| magazine=National Geographic|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150622-andrew-tallon-notre-dame-cathedral-laser-scan-art-history-medieval-gothic/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623232527/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150622-andrew-tallon-notre-dame-cathedral-laser-scan-art-history-medieval-gothic/|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 June 2015|title=Historian uses lasers to unlock mysteries of Gothic cathedrals|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref> whereas if they were added later some movement from prior to their addition would be expected. Tallon thus concluded that flying buttresses were present from the outset.<ref name="Tallon"/> The first buttresses were replaced by larger and stronger ones in the 14th century; these had a reach of {{convert|15|m|ft|spell=in|sigfig=1}} between the walls and counter-supports.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/>

[[John of Jandun]] recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings [prominent structures] in his 1323 ''Treatise on the Praises of Paris'':
{{blockquote|text=That most glorious church of the most glorious Virgin Mary, mother of God, deservedly shines out, like the sun among stars. And although some speakers, by their own free judgment, because [they are] able to see only a few things easily, may say that some other is more beautiful, I believe, however, respectfully, that, if they attend more diligently to the whole and the parts, they will quickly retract this opinion. Where indeed, I ask, would they find two towers of such magnificence and perfection, so high, so large, so strong, clothed round about with such multiple varieties of ornaments? Where, I ask, would they find such a multipartite arrangement of so many lateral vaults, above and below? Where, I ask, would they find such light-filled amenities as the many surrounding chapels? Furthermore, let them tell me in what church I may see such a large cross, of which one arm separates the choir from the nave. Finally, I would willingly learn where [there are] two such circles, situated opposite each other in a straight line, which on account of their appearance are given the name of the fourth vowel [O]; among which smaller orbs and circles, with wondrous artifice, so that some arranged circularly, others angularly, surround windows ruddy with precious colours and beautiful with the most subtle figures of the pictures. In fact, I believe that this church offers the carefully discerning such cause for admiration that its inspection can scarcely sate the soul.|author=Jean de Jandun|source=''Tractatus de laudibus Parisius''{{sfn|Inglis|2003|pp=63–85}}}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Plan.cathedrale.Paris.png|Plan of the cathedral made by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. Portals and nave to the left, a choir in the center, and [[apse]] and [[ambulatory]] to the right. The annex to the south is the [[sacristy]].
File:Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - 15.jpg|Early six-part [[rib vault]]s of the nave. The ribs transferred the thrust of the weight of the roof downward and outwards to the pillars and the supporting buttresses.
File:P1180494 Paris IV Notre-Dame détail sud rwk.jpg|The massive buttresses which counter the outward thrust from the rib vaults of the nave. The weight of the building-shaped [[pinnacle]]s helps keep the [[line of thrust]] safely within the buttresses.
File:Notre-Dame-Paris east 2.jpg|Later [[flying buttress]]es of the apse of Notre-Dame (14th century) reached {{convert|15|m}} from the wall to the counter-supports.
</gallery>

===15th–18th century===
On 16 December 1431, the boy-king [[Henry VI of England]] was crowned king of France in Notre-Dame, aged ten, the traditional coronation church of [[Reims Cathedral]] being under French control.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Allmand |first=C. |author-link=Christopher Allmand |title=The Coronations of Henry VI |date=May 1982 |url=http://www.historytoday.com/ct-allmand/coronations-henry-vi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728212009/https://www.historytoday.com/ct-allmand/coronations-henry-vi |archive-date=28 July 2017 |url-status=live |magazine=[[History Today]] |volume=32 |issue=5}}</ref>

During the [[Renaissance]], the Gothic style fell out of style, and the internal pillars and walls of Notre-Dame were covered with tapestries.<ref name="Libération1">{{cite news|title=Notre-Dame de Paris, joyau de l'art gothique, célèbre ses 850 ans|url=http://www.liberation.fr/depeches/2012/12/12/notre-dame-de-paris-joyau-de-l-art-gothique-celebre-ses-850-ans_867048|language=fr|work=[[Libération]]|date=12 December 2012}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1548, rioting [[Huguenots]] damaged some of the statues of Notre-Dame, considering them [[idolatrous]].<ref name=Chavis>{{cite news|last=Chavis|first=Jason|title=Facts on the Notre Dame Cathedral in France|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/notre-dame-cathedral-france-3356.html|work=USA Today|access-date=3 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060157/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/notre-dame-cathedral-france-3356.html|archive-date=23 October 2013}}</ref>

{{ill|Notre-Dame Parvise Fountain|fr|Fontaine du Parvis Notre-Dame|lt=The fountain}} in Notre-Dame's [[parvise|parvis]] was added in 1625 to provide nearby Parisians with running water.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fontaines et réservoirs de Paris|url=https://400ansaqueducmedicis.org/fontaines-et-reservoirs-de-paris/|language=fr|access-date=19 April 2019|website=400ansaqueducmedicis.org|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413211220/https://400ansaqueducmedicis.org/fontaines-et-reservoirs-de-paris/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Since 1449, the Parisian goldsmith guild had made regular donations to the cathedral chapter. In 1630, the guild began donating a large altarpiece every year on 1 May. These works came to be known as the ''[[May (painting)|grands mays]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/la-cathedrale/linterieur/peintures/les-grands-mays-de-notre-dame-de-paris/|title=Les grands "Mays"|website=notredamedeparis.fr|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=20 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820092615/http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/la-cathedrale/linterieur/peintures/les-grands-mays-de-notre-dame-de-paris|url-status=live}}</ref> The subject matter was restricted to episodes from the [[Acts of the Apostles]]. The prestigious commission was awarded to the most prominent painters and, after 1648, members of the [[Académie Royale]].

Seventy-six paintings had been donated by 1708, when the custom was discontinued for financial reasons. Those works were confiscated in 1793 and the majority were subsequently dispersed among regional museums in France. Those that remained in the cathedral were removed or relocated within the building by the 19th-century restorers.

Thirteen of the ''grands mays'' hang in Notre-Dame; these paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation.

An altarpiece depicting [[Visitation (Christianity)|The Visitation]], painted by [[Jean Jouvenet]] in 1707, was also in the cathedral.

The [[Canon (priest)|canon]] Antoine de La Porte commissioned for Louis XIV six paintings depicting the life of the [[Virgin Mary]] for the choir. At this same time, [[Charles de La Fosse]] painted his ''Adoration of the Magi'', now in the [[Louvre]].<ref>{{cite web|title=L'Adoration des mages|url=https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/l-adoration-des-mages-0|language=fr|publisher=The [[Louvre]]|access-date=19 April 2019|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002155441/https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/l-adoration-des-mages-0|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Louis Antoine de Noailles]], [[archbishop of Paris]], extensively modified the roof of Notre-Dame in 1726, renovating its framing and removing the [[gargoyle]]s with lead gutters. Noailles also strengthened the buttresses, galleries, terraces, and vaults.{{sfn|Lassus|Viollet-le-Duc|1843|p=18}} In 1756, the cathedral's canons decided that its interior was too dark. The medieval stained glass windows, except the rosettes, were removed and replaced with plain, white glass panes.<ref name="Libération1" /> Lastly, Jacques-Germain Soufflot was tasked with the modification of the portals at the front of the cathedral to allow processions to enter more easily.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Sacre Henry6 England-France 02.jpg|[[Henry VI of England]]'s coronation in Notre-Dame as [[List of French monarchs|King of France]], aged ten, during the [[Hundred Years' War]]. His accession to the throne was in accordance with the [[Treaty of Troyes]] of 1420.
File:La Descente du Saint-Esprit.jpg|''La Descente du Saint-Esprit''; illustration depicting Notre-Dame from the [[Hours of Étienne Chevalier]] by [[Jean Fouquet]], {{circa|1450}}
File:Choeur de ND de Paris 1669.jpg|A [[Te Deum]] in the choir of Notre-Dame in 1669, during the reign of [[Louis XIV]]. The choir was redesigned to make room for more lavish ceremonies.
</gallery>

===French Revolution and Napoleon===
After the [[French Revolution]] in 1789, Notre-Dame and the rest of the church's property in France was seized and made public property.{{sfn|Archives parlementaires, Vol. 22|pp=202–05}} The cathedral was rededicated in 1793 to the [[Cult of Reason]], and then to the [[Cult of the Supreme Being]] in 1794.{{sfn|Duvergier|1825|p=281}} During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The twenty-eight statues of biblical kings located at the west façade, mistaken for statues of French kings, were beheaded.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/><ref name="Alexander">{{Cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=Visiting Notre Dame Cathedral – Find Cheap Holidays |url=https://cheapholidayhacks.com/holidaydestinations/visiting-notre-dame-cathedral/ |website=cheapholidayhacks.com |access-date=12 April 2023 |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605133851/https://cheapholidayhacks.com/holidaydestinations/visiting-notre-dame-cathedral/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby, and are on display at the [[Musée de Cluny]]. For a time the [[Liberty (personification)|Goddess of Liberty]] replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars.{{sfn|Herrick|2004|pp=75–76}} The cathedral's great bells escaped being melted down. All of the other large statues on the façade, with the exception of the statue of the Virgin Mary on the portal of the cloister, were destroyed.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/> The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food and other non-religious purposes.<ref name=Chavis/>

With the [[Concordat of 1801]], [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] restored Notre-Dame to the Catholic Church; this was finalised on 18 April 1802. Napoleon also named Paris's new bishop, [[Jean-Baptiste de Belloy]], who restored the cathedral's interior. [[Charles Percier]] and [[Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine]] made quasi-Gothic modifications to Notre-Dame for the [[coronation of Napoleon]] as [[Emperor of the French]] within the cathedral. The building's exterior was [[whitewash]]ed and the interior decorated in [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] style, then in vogue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris|url=https://www.napoleon.org/magazine/lieux/cathedrale-notre-dame-de-paris/|publisher=Foundation Napoleon|access-date=25 April 2019|language=fr|archive-date=5 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505224111/https://www.napoleon.org/magazine/lieux/cathedrale-notre-dame-de-paris/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Fête de la Raison 1793.jpg|The [[Cult of Reason]] is celebrated at Notre-Dame during the [[French Revolution]] (1793)
File:Percier et Fontaine 004.jpg|Arrival of [[Napoleon]] at the east end of Notre-Dame for his [[coronation of Napoleon I|coronation]] as [[Emperor of the French]] on 2 December 1804
File:Jacques-Louis David - The Coronation of Napoleon (1805-1807).jpg|The [[coronation of Napoleon]], on 2 December 1804 at Notre-Dame, as portrayed in the 1807 painting ''[[The Coronation of Napoleon]]'' by [[Jacques-Louis David]]
</gallery>

===19th-century restoration===
In the decades after the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Notre-Dame fell into such a state of disrepair that Paris officials considered its demolition. [[Victor Hugo]], who admired the cathedral, wrote the novel ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (published in English as ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame]]'') in 1831 to save Notre-Dame. The book was an enormous success, raising awareness of the cathedral's decaying state.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/> The same year as Hugo's novel was published, anti-[[Legitimists]] plundered Notre-Dame's [[sacristy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Limouzin-Lamothe|first=Roger|date=1964|title=La dévastation de Notre-Dame et de l'archevêché de Paris en février 1831|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1964_num_50_147_1733|journal=Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France|volume=50|issue=147|pages=125–134|doi=10.3406/rhef.1964.1733|issn=0048-7988|archive-date=15 March 2022|access-date=15 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315075630/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1964_num_50_147_1733|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1844 King [[Louis Philippe]] ordered that the church be restored.<ref name="notredamedeparis.fr"/>

The architect who had been in charge of Notre-Dame's maintenance, [[Étienne-Hippolyte Godde]], was dismissed. [[Jean-Baptiste Lassus]] and [[Eugène Viollet-le-Duc]], who had distinguished themselves with the restoration of the nearby Sainte-Chapelle, were appointed in 1844. The next year, Viollet-le-Duc submitted a budget of 3,888,500 [[French franc|francs]], which was reduced to 2,650,000 francs, for the restoration of Notre-Dame and the construction of a new sacristy building. This budget was exhausted in 1850, and work stopped as Viollet-le-Duc made proposals for more money. In totality, the restoration cost over 12&nbsp;million francs. Supervising a large team of sculptors, glass makers and other craftsmen, and working from drawings or engravings, Viollet-le-Duc remade or added decorations if he felt they were in the spirit of the original style. One of the latter items was a taller and more ornate [[Flèche (architecture)|flèche]], to replace the original 13th-century flèche, which had been removed in 1786.<ref>Mignon, Olivier, ''Architecture des Cathédrales Gothiques'', (2015), Éditions Ouest-France, (in French), pg. 18.</ref> The decoration of the restoration included a bronze roof statue of [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] that resembles Viollet-le-Duc, as well as the sculpture of mythical creatures on the ''Galerie des Chimères''.<ref name=Chavis/>

The construction of the sacristy was especially financially costly. To secure a firm foundation, it was necessary for Viollet-le-Duc's labourers to dig {{convert|9|m|ft|spell=on}}. Master glassworkers meticulously copied styles of the 13th century, as written about by art historians Antoine Lusson and [[Adolphe Napoléon Didron]].{{sfn|Cabezas|1988|pp=118–20}}

During the [[Paris Commune]] of March through May 1871, the cathedral and other churches were closed, and some two hundred priests and the Archbishop of Paris were taken as hostages. In May, during the [[Semaine sanglante]] of "Bloody Week", as the army recaptured the city, the Communards targeted the cathedral, along with the [[Tuileries Palace]] and other landmarks, for destruction; the Communards piled the furniture together in order to burn the cathedral. The arson was halted when the Communard government realised that the fire would also destroy the neighbouring [[Hôtel-Dieu, Paris|Hôtel-Dieu]] hospital, filled with hundreds of patients.<ref>Lissagaray (1896), p. 338.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:ND de Paris avant 1841.jpg|The western façade of Notre-Dame in 1841, showing the building in an advanced state of disrepair before the major restoration by Viollet-le-Duc
File:Lassus, Viollet-le-Duc - Projet de restauration de Notre-Dame de Paris - page 4.jpg|Proposed doorway decoration by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc; plate engraved by [[Léon Gaucherel]]
File:Bayard, Hippolyte - Notre-Dame de Paris (2) (Zeno Fotografie).jpg|The southern façade of Notre-Dame at the beginning of the restoration work; photo from 1847 by [[Hippolyte Bayard]]
File:Notre-Dame Spire Model (1859).jpg|Model of the flèche and "forest" of wooden roof beams made for Viollet-le-Duc (1859) (Museum of Historic Monuments, Paris)
</gallery>

===20th century===
[[File:Maison Braun & Cie, Notre Dame de Paris, ca. 1930-crop, change chiaroscuro, perspective, add color by Paolo Villa 2019.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Façade of Notre-Dame in the 1930s]]

During the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the cathedral suffered some minor damage from stray bullets. Some of the medieval glass was damaged, and was replaced by glass with modern abstract designs. On 26 August, a special Mass was held in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris from the Germans; it was attended by General [[Charles De Gaulle]] and General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]].

In 1963, on the initiative of culture minister [[André Malraux]] and to mark the 800th anniversary of the cathedral, the façade was cleaned of the centuries of soot and grime, restoring it to its original off-white colour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laurent|first=Xavier|title=Grandeur et misère du patrimoine, d'André Malraux à Jacques Duhamel (1959–1973)|year=2003|publisher=Librairie Droz |isbn=9782900791608|oclc=53974742|language=fr}}</ref>

On 19 January 1969, vandals placed a North Vietnamese flag at the top of the flèche, and sabotaged the stairway leading to it. The flag was cut from the flèche by Paris Fire Brigade Sergeant [[Parkour#Raymond and David Belle|Raymond Belle]] in a helicopter mission, the first of its kind in France.<ref>{{cite web |title=SYND 19-1-69 VIET CONG FLAG REMOVED FROM NOTRE DAME |website=[[YouTube]] |date=21 July 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUgWD4lsN4 |language=en |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144936/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUgWD4lsN4 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Vietcong Flag Put Atop Notre Dame |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/20/archives/vietcong-flag-put-atop-notre-dame.html |work=The New York Times |date=20 January 1969 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144236/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/20/archives/vietcong-flag-put-atop-notre-dame.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Angel |first1=Julie |title=Breaking the Jump: The Secret Story of Parkour's High Flying Rebellion |date=July 2016 |publisher=Aurum Press |isbn=978-1-78131-554-5 |pages=90–91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iAxjDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT90 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Requiem Mass]] of [[Charles de Gaulle]] was held in Notre-Dame on 12 November 1970.<ref>{{cite news|title=France mourns de Gaulle; world leaders to attend a service at Notre Dame|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/11/archives/france-mourns-de-gaulle-world-leaders-to-attend-a-service-at-notre.html|date=11 November 1970|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413194204/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/11/archives/france-mourns-de-gaulle-world-leaders-to-attend-a-service-at-notre.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 26 June 1971, [[Philippe Petit]] walked across a tight-rope strung between Notre-Dame's two bell towers entertaining spectators.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sneaky Juggler Has Ball Up in Sky at Notre Dame|work=Ogden-Standard Examiner|date=27 June 1971|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4082961/sneaky_juggler_has_ball/|archive-date=30 April 2019|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430065607/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4082961/sneaky_juggler_has_ball/|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the [[Magnificat]] of 30 May 1980, [[Pope John Paul II]] celebrated Mass on the [[parvis]] of the cathedral.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gohn|first=Pat|title=Prayer of St. John Paul II at Notre Dame from May 30, 1980|url=http://www.catholicdigest.com/catholic-digest/prayer-of-st-john-paul-ii-at-notre-dame-cathedral-paris-1980/|work=[[Catholic Digest]]|date=15 April 2019|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424171405/http://www.catholicdigest.com/catholic-digest/prayer-of-st-john-paul-ii-at-notre-dame-cathedral-paris-1980/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Requiem Mass of [[François Mitterrand]] was held at the cathedral, as with past French heads of state, on 11 January 1996.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Whitney|first=Craig R.|title=Francois Mitterrand Dies at 79; Champion of a Unified Europe|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/09/world/francois-mitterrand-dies-at-79-champion-of-a-unified-europe.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 January 1996|access-date=10 November 2011|archive-date=16 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516120427/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/09/world/francois-mitterrand-dies-at-79-champion-of-a-unified-europe.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The stone masonry of the cathedral's exterior had deteriorated in the 19th and 20th centuries due to increased [[air pollution]] in Paris, which accelerated erosion of decorations and discoloured the stone. By the late 1980s, several gargoyles and turrets had fallen or become too loose to remain safely in place.<ref name="NYT-1992">{{cite news |last=Simons |first=Marlisle |date=9 April 1992 |title=To Notre Dame's Rescue, Sickly Gargoyles and All |page=A4 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/09/world/paris-journal-to-notre-dame-s-rescue-sickly-gargoyles-and-all.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064007/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/09/world/paris-journal-to-notre-dame-s-rescue-sickly-gargoyles-and-all.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A decade-long renovation programme began in 1991 and replaced much of the exterior, with care given to retain the authentic architectural elements of the cathedral, including rigorous inspection of new limestone blocks.<ref name="NYT-1992"/><ref>{{cite news |last=August |first=Marilyn |date=7 April 1991 |title=Notre Dame Church Will Get Face Lift |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-07-mn-31-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064005/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-07-mn-31-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A discreet system of electrical wires, not visible from below, was also installed on the roof to deter pigeons.<ref>{{cite news |date=14 April 1998 |title=Paris pigeons to get shock treatment at Notre Dame |url=https://www.deseret.com/1998/4/14/19374473/paris-pigeons-to-get-shock-treatment-at-notre-dame/ |work=The Guardian |via=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013619/https://www.deseret.com/1998/4/14/19374473/paris-pigeons-to-get-shock-treatment-at-notre-dame |url-status=live }}</ref> The cathedral's [[pipe organ]] was upgraded with a computerised system to control the mechanical connections to the [[Organ pipe|pipes]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Whitney |first=Craig R. |date=3 April 1995 |title=Notre Dame's Organ and Computer Are No Duet |page=A4 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/03/world/paris-journal-notre-dame-s-organ-and-computer-are-no-duet.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064008/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/03/world/paris-journal-notre-dame-s-organ-and-computer-are-no-duet.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The west face was cleaned and restored in time for [[millennium celebrations]] in December 1999.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bremner |first=Charles |date=21 December 1999 |title=Paris given a millennium makeover |page=15 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:NOTRE DAME DE PARIS May 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Notre-Dame in May 2012. From top to bottom, [[nave]] walls are pierced by [[clerestory]] windows, arches to [[triforium]], and arches to [[side aisle]]s.]]

The Requiem Mass of Cardinal [[Jean-Marie Lustiger]], former archbishop of Paris and Jewish convert to Catholicism, was held in Notre-Dame on 10 August 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nicolas Sarkozy assistera aux obsèques du cardinal Lustiger|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/info/infojour/reuters.asp?id=50441&1104|work=[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]|date=9 August 2007|url-status=dead|language=fr|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215135528/http://www.lexpress.fr/info/infojour/reuters.asp?id=50441&1104|archive-date=15 February 2008}}</ref>

The set of four 19th-century bells at the top of the northern towers at Notre-Dame were melted down and recast into new bronze bells in 2013, to celebrate the building's 850th anniversary. They were designed to recreate the sound of the cathedral's original bells from the 17th century.<ref>{{cite news |last=de la Baume |first=Maia |date=19 October 2011 |title=A Melodic Emblem Falls Out of Tune |page=A6 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/world/europe/in-paris-bells-at-notre-dame-will-be-replaced.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064006/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/world/europe/in-paris-bells-at-notre-dame-will-be-replaced.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 February 2013 |title=New Notre Dame bells make harmonious history |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/02/new-notre-dame-bells/1885675/ |work=[[USA Today]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064005/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/02/new-notre-dame-bells/1885675/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the 1990s renovation, the cathedral had continued to show signs of deterioration that prompted the national government to propose a new renovation program in the late 2010s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Breeden |first=Aurelien |date=28 September 2017 |title=In Paris, Worn-Out Notre-Dame Needs a Makeover, and Hopes You Can Help |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/world/europe/paris-notre-dame-renovation.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415222641/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/world/europe/paris-notre-dame-renovation.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Walt |first=Vivienne |date=27 July 2017 |title=Notre Dame Cathedral Is Crumbling. Who Will Help Save It? |url=https://time.com/4876087/notre-dame-cathedral-is-crumbling/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=4 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171340/http://time.com/4876087/notre-dame-cathedral-is-crumbling/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The entire renovation was estimated to cost €100&nbsp;million, which the archbishop of Paris planned to raise through funds from the national government and private donations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sage |first=Adam |date=10 March 2018 |title=Paris's crumbling Notre-Dame looks to wealthy foreigners for salvation |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pariss-crumbling-notre-dame-looks-to-wealthy-foreigners-for-salvation-gpsbkl0ls |work=The Times |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416064005/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pariss-crumbling-notre-dame-looks-to-wealthy-foreigners-for-salvation-gpsbkl0ls |url-status=live }}</ref> A €6&nbsp;million renovation of the cathedral's flèche began in late 2018 and continued into the following year, requiring the temporary removal of copper statues on the roof and other decorative elements.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 April 2019 |title=Massive fire engulfs beloved Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris |url=https://www.apnews.com/73404d09773740f699d4b92933abec50 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416000315/https://apnews.com/73404d09773740f699d4b92933abec50 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 April 2019 |title=Notre-Dame cathedral: Macron pledges reconstruction after fire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47943705 |work=BBC News |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416050553/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47943705 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Notre-Dame began a year-long celebration of the 850th anniversary of the laying of the first building block for the cathedral on 12 December 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ca.rendezvousenfrance.com/en/events/paris-notre-dame-cathedral-celebrates-850-years |title=Paris's Notre Dame cathedral celebrates 850 years|publisher=GIE ATOUT FRANCE|access-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714213721/http://ca.rendezvousenfrance.com/en/events/paris-notre-dame-cathedral-celebrates-850-years|archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> On 21 May 2013, [[Dominique Venner]], a [[historian]] and white nationalist, placed a letter on the [[Church (building)|church]] [[altar]] and shot himself, dying instantly. Around 1,500 visitors were evacuated from the cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frémont|first=Anne-Laure|title=Un historien d'extrême droite se suicide à Notre-Dame|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2013/05/21/01016-20130521ARTFIG00477-un-homme-se-suicide-dans-notre-dame-de-paris.php|work=Le Figaro|date=21 May 2013|language=fr|access-date=21 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522025057/http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2013/05/21/01016-20130521ARTFIG00477-un-homme-se-suicide-dans-notre-dame-de-paris.php|archive-date=22 May 2013}}</ref>

French police arrested two people on 8 September 2016 after [[Notre-Dame de Paris bombing attempt|a car containing seven gas canisters filled with diesel fuel]] was found near Notre-Dame.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hinnnant|first1=Lori|last2=Sotto|first2=Philippe|title=Gas Containers Found Near Notre Dame|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-09-07/2-detained-after-gas-canisters-found-near-paris-notre-dame|work=[[U.S. News & World Report|U.S. News]]|date=7 September 2017|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910153018/http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-09-07/2-detained-after-gas-canisters-found-near-paris-notre-dame|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Notre-Dame plot: Five women in court over foiled car bomb attack|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49794927|accessdate=10 July 2020|publisher=BBC|date=23 September 2019|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111222637/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49794927|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 10 February 2017, French police arrested four people in [[Montpellier]] known to have ties to radical Islamist organisations on charges of plotting to travel to Paris and attack the cathedral.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McAuley|first1=James|title=After Louvre attack, France foils another terrorist plot|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/10/after-louvre-attack-france-foils-another-terrorist-plot/|access-date=14 February 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213012340/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/10/after-louvre-attack-france-foils-another-terrorist-plot/|archive-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> On 6 June, visitors were shut inside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris after [[2017 Notre-Dame de Paris attack|a man with a hammer attacked a police officer outside]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Paris: Inside Notre-Dame during lockdown|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-40175391/paris-inside-notre-dame-during-lockdown|work=BBC News|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411235638/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-40175391/paris-inside-notre-dame-during-lockdown|archive-date=11 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Notre Dame, Paris: Hundreds put in terror lockdown|url=https://www.qt.com.au/news/notre-dame-paris-hundreds-put-terror-lockdown/3186662/|work=Queensland Time|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415224122/https://www.qt.com.au/news/notre-dame-paris-hundreds-put-terror-lockdown/3186662/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===2019 fire===
{{main|Notre-Dame fire}}

On 15 April 2019 the cathedral caught fire, destroying the flèche and the "forest" of oak roof beams supporting the lead roof.<ref name="partofspirecollapses">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/world/europe/notre-dame-fire.html|title=Part of Notre-Dame Spire Collapses as Paris Cathedral Catches Fire|last=Breeden|first=Aurelien|date=15 April 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=15 April 2019|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415174607/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/world/europe/notre-dame-fire.html|archive-date=15 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=fire1>{{cite news |last= Seiger |first= Theresa |title=Fire reported at Paris' Notre Dame cathedral |url= https://www.ajc.com/news/national/fire-reported-paris-notre-dame-cathedral/ukKe051QWt0d21wFgEhWbP |newspaper= The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415172949/https://www.ajc.com/news/national/fire-reported-paris-notre-dame-cathedral/ukKe051QWt0d21wFgEhWbP |archive-date=15 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="fire2">{{cite web |url= https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/paris-notre-dame-cathedral-on-fire-reuters.html |title= Roof burns at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral as massive fire rages |last= El-Bawab |first= Nadine |date=15 April 2019 |website= CNBC |access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190415172554/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/paris-notre-dame-cathedral-on-fire-reuters.html |archive-date=15 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was speculated that the fire was linked to ongoing renovation work.

The fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral at 18:18, investigators concluded. The [[smoke detector]]s immediately signalled the fire to a cathedral employee, who did not summon the [[fire brigade]] but instead sent a cathedral guard to investigate. The guard was sent to the wrong location, to the attic of the adjoining sacristy, and reported there was no fire. About 15 minutes later the error was discovered and the guard's supervisor told him to go to the correct location. The fire brigade was still not notified. By the time the guard had climbed the 300 steps to the cathedral attic, the fire was well advanced.<ref name="New York Times 2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/notre-dame.html|title=Notre-Dame came far closer to collapsing than people knew. This is how it was saved.|last1=Peltier|first1=Elian|date=16 July 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=15 November 2019|last2=Glanz|first2=James|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|last3=Gröndahl|first3=Mika|last4=Cai|first4=Weiyi|last5=Nossiter|first5=Adam|last6=Alderman|first6=Liz|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717082725/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/notre-dame.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The alarm system was not designed to automatically notify the fire brigade, which was summoned at 18:51 after the guard had returned from the attic and reported a now-raging fire, and more than half an hour after the fire alarm had begun sounding.<ref name="nytimes20190419">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/world/europe/notre-dame-fire-safety.html|title=Notre-Dame's Safety Planners Underestimated the Risk, With Devastating Results|first1=Katrin |last1=Bennhold |first2=James |last2=Glanz|date=19 April 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=20 April 2019|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420012938/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/world/europe/notre-dame-fire-safety.html|archive-date=20 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Firefighters arrived in less than ten minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-notredame-firefighters/paris-firefighters-got-on-notre-dame-site-in-less-than-10-minutes-idUSKCN1RT1N7 |first=Inti |last=Landauro |title=Paris firefighters got on Notre-Dame site in less than 10 minutes |publisher=Reuters |date=17 April 2017 |access-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418104848/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-notredame-firefighters/paris-firefighters-got-on-notre-dame-site-in-less-than-10-minutes-idUSKCN1RT1N7 |archive-date=18 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The cathedral's flèche collapsed at 19:50, bringing down 750 tonnes of stone and lead. The firefighters inside were ordered down. By this time the fire had spread to the north tower, where the eight bells were. The firefighters concentrated their efforts in the tower. They feared that, if the bells fell, they could wreck the tower, and endanger the structure of the other tower and the whole cathedral. They had to ascend a stairway threatened by fire, and to contend with low water pressure for their hoses. As others watered the stairway and the roof, a team of 20 firefighters climbed the narrow stairway of the south tower, crossed to the north tower, lowered hoses to be connected to fire engines outside the cathedral, and sprayed water on the fire beneath the bells. By 21:45, they brought the fire under control.<ref name="New York Times 2019"/>

The main structure was intact; firefighters saved the façade, towers, walls, buttresses, and stained-glass windows. The stone vaulting that forms the ceiling of the cathedral had several holes but was otherwise intact.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notre Dame Cathedral Fire, Paris, France |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-paris-france-landmark-live-news |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415230652/https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-paris-france-landmark-live-news |archive-date=15 April 2019 |access-date=15 April 2019 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The Great Organ, which has over 8,000 [[Organ pipe|pipe]]s and was built by François Thierry in the 18th century, was also saved but damaged by water.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2019/04/21/715271953/after-the-flames-notre-dames-centuries-old-organ-may-never-be-the-same-again|last1=Garcia-Navarro|first1=Lulu|last2=Wharton|first2=Ned|title=After The Flames, Notre Dame's Centuries-Old Organ May Never Be The Same Again|date=21 April 2019|work=NPR|access-date=21 April 2019|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144644/https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2019/04/21/715271953/after-the-flames-notre-dames-centuries-old-organ-may-never-be-the-same-again|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of the renovation, the copper statues on the flèche had been removed before the fire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 April 2019 |title=Notre-Dame cathedral engulfed by fire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-47942176 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415185203/https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-47942176 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |access-date=15 April 2019 |website=BBC News}}</ref> About 500 firefighters helped to battle the fire, President [[Emmanuel Macron]] said. One firefighter was seriously injured and two police officers were hurt during the blaze.<ref>{{cite web|last=Diebelius|first=Georgia|url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/15/firefighter-seriously-injured-battling-catastrophic-notre-dame-cathedral-blaze-9219156/|title=Firefighter and two police officers injured battling 'catastrophic' Notre-Dame fire|work=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro UK]]|date=15 April 2019|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416111826/https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/15/firefighter-seriously-injured-battling-catastrophic-notre-dame-cathedral-blaze-9219156/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
No [[Christmas Mass]] was held in 2019 for the first time in more than 200 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/no-christmas-mass-at-notre-dame-for-the-first-time-since-napoleon/article30394415.ece|title=No Christmas Mass at Notre-Dame for the first time since Napoleon|via=Reuters|date=25 December 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=26 December 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144728/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/no-christmas-mass-at-notre-dame-for-the-first-time-since-napoleon/article30394415.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> The first cathedral choir performance since the fire took place in December 2020; only eight members sang because of [[COVID-19 pandemic]] restrictions. A video of the event aired just before midnight on 24 December.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-choir-christmas-eve-concert-first-time-back-since-fire/|title=Notre Dame choir returns for first time since devastating fire for Christmas Eve concert|work=[[CBS News]]|via=Associated Press|date=25 December 2020|access-date=26 December 2020|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144312/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-choir-christmas-eve-concert-first-time-back-since-fire/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:NotreDame20190415QuaideMontebello (cropped).jpg|The 2019 fire destroyed Notre-Dame's wooden roof and flèche but left the outer structure largely intact.
File:Flèche en feu - Spire on Fire.jpeg|The flèche aflame during the 2019 fire, before its collapse
File:Notre Dame before and after 2019 fire.gif|Animation showing the south façade before and after the fire; scaffolding had been erected as part of renovations underway when the fire started
File:Paris and environs with routes from London to Paris handbook for travellers (1913) eingenordet.png|The area directly under the [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing]] and two other cells of vaulting collapsed
File:Notre Dame de Paris by dayV1.svg|In red, the destroyed parts
</gallery>

====Stabilisation of the building====
[[File:Notre Dame de Paris roof damage aerial.webm|thumb|The roof reduced to piles of char at the top of the mostly intact vaults]]

Immediately after the fire, Macron promised that Notre-Dame would be restored, and called for the work to be completed within five years.<ref>''Le Parisien'', 16 April 2019.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Notre-Dame cathedral engulfed by fire|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-47942176|work=BBC News|date=15 April 2019|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415181717/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-47942176|archive-date=15 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Latest: French leader vows to rebuild damaged Notre Dame|url=https://www.apnews.com/91d9711a9e5549109dd04d264e02b720|publisher=Associated Press|date=15 April 2019|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415215922/https://apnews.com/91d9711a9e5549109dd04d264e02b720|archive-date=15 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/years-decades-uncertainty-over-time-needed-rebuild-notre-dame-doc-1fo84h1|title=Years? Decades? Uncertainty over time needed to rebuild Notre-Dame|website=AFP.com|date=16 January 2012|language=en|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416122216/https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/years-decades-uncertainty-over-time-needed-rebuild-notre-dame-doc-1fo84h1|url-status=live}}</ref> An international architectural competition was announced to redesign the flèche and roof.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/apr/17/france-announces-architecture-competition-rebuild-notre-dames-spire|title=France announces contest to redesign Notre Dame spire|last=Henley|first=Jon|date=17 April 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 April 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144936/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/apr/17/france-announces-architecture-competition-rebuild-notre-dames-spire|url-status=live}}</ref> The announcement drew criticism in the international press from heritage academics and professionals who faulted the French government for being too focused on quickly building a new flèche, and neglecting to frame its response holistically as an inclusive social process encompassing the whole building and its long-term users.<ref>{{Cite news|title=In Notre Dame, we find a heritage that invites us to breathe and reflect: A spire competition is the wrong approach|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/a-proustian-call-to-arms-on-notre-dame|last=Otero-Pailos|first=Jorge|date=19 April 2019|work=The Art Newspaper|access-date=13 May 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0960-6556|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811002952/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/a-proustian-call-to-arms-on-notre-dame|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Notre Dame Should Be Rebuilt As It Was|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/notre-dame-should-be-rebuilt-as-it-was-says-a-former-director-of-unesco-s-world-heritage-centre|last=Bandarin|first=Francesco|date=30 April 2019|work=The Art Newspaper|access-date=13 May 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0960-6556|archive-date=6 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506173223/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/notre-dame-should-be-rebuilt-as-it-was-says-a-former-director-of-unesco-s-world-heritage-centre|url-status=live}}</ref> A new law was drafted to make Notre-Dame exempt from [[Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage|existing heritage laws and procedures]], which prompted an open letter to Macron signed by over 1,170 heritage experts urging respect for existing regulations.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Notre-Dame: 'Monsieur le président, ne dessaisissez pas les experts du patrimoine!'|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/notre-dame-monsieur-le-president-ne-dessaisissez-pas-les-experts-du-patrimoine-20190428|last=Collective|first=Tribune|date=29 April 2019|work=Le Figaro|access-date=13 May 2019|language=fr|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512061701/http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/notre-dame-monsieur-le-president-ne-dessaisissez-pas-les-experts-du-patrimoine-20190428|url-status=live}}</ref> The law, which passed on 11 May 2019, was hotly debated in the [[French National Assembly]], with opponents accusing Macron's administration of using Notre-Dame for political grandstanding, and defenders arguing the need for expediency and tax breaks to encourage philanthropic giving.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Le projet de loi pour la restauration de Notre-Dame adopté par l'Assemblée nationale: Ce projet de loi prévoit des dérogations aux règles d'urbanisme pour respecter le calendrier voulu par Emmanuel Macron|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2019/05/11/le-projet-de-loi-pour-la-restauration-de-notre-dame-adopte-par-l-assemblee-nationale_5460759_3224.html|last=Rescan|first=Manon|date=11 May 2019|work=Le Monde|access-date=13 May 2019|language=fr|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144312/https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2019/05/11/le-projet-de-loi-pour-la-restauration-de-notre-dame-adopte-par-l-assemblee-nationale_5460759_3224.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Macron suggested he was open to a "contemporary architectural gesture". Even before the competition rules were announced, architects around the world offered suggestions: the proposals included a {{convert|100|m|ft|adj=on}} flèche made of carbon fibre, covered with gold leaf; a roof built of stained glass; a greenhouse; a garden with trees, open to the sky; and a column of light pointed upwards. A poll published in the French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' on 8 May 2019 showed that 55% of French respondents wanted a flèche identical to the original. French culture minister [[Franck Riester]] promised that the restoration would not be hasty.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=Alex |title=Glass, Golden Flames or a Beam of Light: What Should Replace Notre-Dame's Spire? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/arts/design/notre-dame-spire-designs.html |work=The New York Times |date=10 May 2019 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |access-date=27 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002155441/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/arts/design/notre-dame-spire-designs.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 29 July 2019, the French National Assembly enacted a law requiring that the restoration must "preserve the historic, artistic and architectural interest of the monument."<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |last=Bandarin |first=Francesco |date=2 August 2019 |title=New law regarding Notre Dame says restoration must preserve its 'historic, artistic and architectural interest' |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/analysis/it-s-official-the-new-notre-dame-will-look-like-the-old-notre-dame |work=[[The Art Newspaper]] |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419113932/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/analysis/it-s-official-the-new-notre-dame-will-look-like-the-old-notre-dame |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2019, the French government announced that the first stage of reconstruction, the stabilising of the structure against collapse, would last until the end of 2020. In December 2019, Monseigneur Patrick Chauvet, the rector of the cathedral, said there was still a 50% chance that Notre-Dame could not be saved due to the risk of the remaining scaffolding falling onto the three damaged vaults.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/475904-notre-dame-rector-sees-maybe-50-percent-chance-cathedral-can-be|title=Notre Dame rector sees 'maybe' 50 percent chance cathedral can be saved|first=Rebecca|last=Klar|date=25 December 2019|website=The Hill|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227022546/https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/475904-notre-dame-rector-sees-maybe-50-percent-chance-cathedral-can-be|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/25/notre-dame-cathedral-may-not-saved-after-fire/2745848001/|title=Notre Dame Cathedral, empty for Christmas, may never recover from devastating fire|first=John|last=Bacon|website=USA Today|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116010947/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/25/notre-dame-cathedral-may-not-saved-after-fire/2745848001/|url-status=live}}</ref> Reconstruction could not begin before early 2021. Macron announced that he hoped the reconstructed Cathedral could be finished in time for the opening of the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="RFIRecon">Radio France International, 10 October 2019.</ref>

The first task of the restoration was the removal of 250–300 tonnes of melted metal tubes, the remains of the scaffolding, which could have fallen onto the vaults and caused further structural damage. This began in February 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Builders back at Paris's Notre-Dame after COVID-19 shutdown|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200427-builders-back-at-paris-s-notre-dame-after-covid-19-shutdown|date=27 April 2020|website=France 24|language=en|access-date=5 May 2020|archive-date=2 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502143531/https://www.france24.com/en/20200427-builders-back-at-paris-s-notre-dame-after-covid-19-shutdown|url-status=live}}</ref> A crane {{convert|84|m|ft}} high was put in place next to the cathedral to help remove the scaffolding.<ref>LCI News, 20 December 2019.</ref> The work was completed in November 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=Incendie de Notre-Dame de Paris : le délicat démontage de l'échafaudage commence |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/06/08/incendie-de-notre-dame-de-paris-le-delicat-demontage-de-l-echafaudage-commence_6042105_3224.html |website=Le Monde |access-date=8 June 2020 |language=fr |date=8 June 2020 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501073332/https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/06/08/incendie-de-notre-dame-de-paris-le-delicat-demontage-de-l-echafaudage-commence_6042105_3224.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Wooden support beams were added to stabilise the flying buttresses and other structures.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Notre Dame Fire: One Year Later|url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/notre-dame-fix|date=2 April 2020|website=The Wall Street Journal|language=en|access-date=10 March 2021|archive-date=24 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424045827/https://www.wsj.com/graphics/notre-dame-fix/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

On 10 April 2020, the archbishop of Paris, [[Michel Aupetit]], and a handful of participants, all in protective clothing to prevent exposure to lead dust, performed a [[Good Friday]] service inside the cathedral.<ref>{{Cite news|via= YouTube|publisher=[[KTO (TV channel)|KTO TV]]|date=10 April 2020|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QjFAYgmvcI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/2QjFAYgmvcI| archive-date=28 October 2021|title=Vénération de la Sainte Couronne d'épines à Notre-Dame de Paris|language=fr}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Music was provided by the violinist [[Renaud Capuçon]]; the lectors were the actors [[Philippe Torreton]] and [[Judith Chemla]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfmtv.com/societe/vendredi-saint-a-notre-dame-a-quoi-servent-les-combinaisons-blanches-portees-par-les-artistes-1892252.html|publisher=[[BFM TV]]|title=Vendredi saint à Notre-Dame|date=10 April 2020|first=Salomé|last=Vincendon|access-date=11 April 2020|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411142259/https://www.bfmtv.com/societe/vendredi-saint-a-notre-dame-a-quoi-servent-les-combinaisons-blanches-portees-par-les-artistes-1892252.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Chemla gave an [[a cappella]] rendition of ''[[Ave Maria]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSAFlbqgjfM| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/XSAFlbqgjfM| archive-date=28 October 2021|title=L'émouvante interprétation de l'Ave Maria chanté par la comédienne Judith Chemla|website=BFM TV YouTube Channel|publisher=[[BFM TV]]|date=10 April 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

====Heading reconstruction====
In February 2021, the selection of oak trees to replace the flèche and roof timbers destroyed by the fire began. A thousand mature trees were chosen from the forests of France, each of a diameter of {{convert|50|to|90|cm|in}} and a height of {{convert|8|to|14|m|ft}}, and an age of several hundred years. Once cut, the trees had to dry for 12 to 18 months. The trees were to be replaced by new plantings.<ref>{{cite news |title = A la recherche des chênes pour reconstruire la flêche de Notre-Dame |work = Le Figaro |date = 16 February 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> Two years after the fire, a news report stated that: "there is still a hole on top of the church. They're also building a replica of the church's spire". More oak trees needed to be shipped to Paris, where they would need to be dried before use.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 April 2021 |title=Two Years Later, Here's the Latest With Notre-Dame's Restoration |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/two-years-later-heres-latest-notre-dames-restoration/amp |access-date=15 April 2021 |website=Architectural Digest |quote=The selection of these first oaks trees is an important step on the road to the rebirth of the cathedral," says Dominique Jarlier, president of the National Federation of Forestry Municipalities. "It's part of a huge transformation. |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415053549/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/two-years-later-heres-latest-notre-dames-restoration/amp |url-status=live }}</ref> The oaks used to make the framework were tested and selected by [[Sylvatest]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 2022 |title=CBT : le contrôle non destructif du bois au service de son usage efficient |url=http://www.leboisinternational.com/premiere-transformation/exploitation-forestiere/cbt-le-controle-non-destructif-du-bois-au-service-de-son-usage-efficient-701246.php/?latest |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=www.leboisinternational.com |language=fr |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720200447/http://www.leboisinternational.com/premiere-transformation/exploitation-forestiere/cbt-le-controle-non-destructif-du-bois-au-service-de-son-usage-efficient-701246.php/?latest |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 18 September 2021, the public agency overseeing the Cathedral stated that the safety work was completed, the cathedral was fully secured, and that reconstruction would begin within a few months.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 September 2021|title=Notre-Dame Cathedral ready for restoration after post-fire safety work completed|url=https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210918-notre-dame-de-paris-ready-for-restauration-after-post-fire-security-works|access-date=19 September 2021|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=28 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628183608/https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210918-notre-dame-de-paris-ready-for-restauration-after-post-fire-security-works|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Research====
In 2022, a preventive dig carried out between February and April before the construction of a scaffold for reconstructing the cathedral's flèche unearthed several statues and tombs under the cathedral.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willsher |first=Kim |date=14 April 2022 |title='Extraordinary': ancient tombs and statues unearthed beneath Notre Dame Cathedral |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/ancient-tombs-statues-notre-dame-cathedral-archaeological-dig |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |location=Paris, France}}</ref> One of the discoveries was a 14th-century lead [[sarcophagus]] found {{cvt|65|feet|order=flip}} below where the [[transept]] crosses the church's 12th-century nave.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/a-mysterious-sarcophagus-discovered-beneath-notre-dame-will-soon-be-opened-1234625466/|first=Tessa|last=Solomon|date=15 April 2022|title=A Mysterious Sarcophagus Discovered Beneath Notre-Dame Will Soon Be Opened|work=ARTnews|archive-date=8 April 2024|access-date=18 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408224659/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/a-mysterious-sarcophagus-discovered-beneath-notre-dame-will-soon-be-opened-1234625466/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 14 April 2022, France's National Preventive Archaeological Research Institute ({{Interlanguage link|INRAP|fr|Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives}}) announced that the sarcophagus was extracted from the cathedral and that scientists had examined the casket using an endoscopic camera, revealing the upper part of a skeleton.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarcophagus-notre-dame-cathedral-mystery-opened/|date=14 April 2022|title=Mysterious sarcophagus found below fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral will soon be opened and its secrets revealed|work=CBS|archive-date=2 October 2023|access-date=19 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144729/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarcophagus-notre-dame-cathedral-mystery-opened/|url-status=live}}</ref> An opening was discovered below the cathedral floor, likely made around 1230 when the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedral was first under construction; inside were fragments of a choir screen dating from the 13th century that had been destroyed in the early 18th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sarcophagus-discovered-notre-dame-excavation-1234622138/|first=Tessa|last=Solomon|date=17 March 2022|title=700-Year-Old Sarcophagus Discovered Beneath Notre-Dame Cathedral|work=ARTnews|archive-date=2 October 2023|access-date=18 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002144312/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sarcophagus-discovered-notre-dame-excavation-1234622138/|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2023, archaeologists uncovered thousands of metal staples in various parts of the cathedral, some dating back to the early 1160s. The archaeologists concluded that "Notre Dame is now unquestionably the first known Gothic cathedral where iron was massively used to bind stones as a proper construction material."<ref>{{cite web |last=Cassella |first=Carly |date=19 March 2023 |title=Notre Dame's Fire Reveals a Major Surprise Hidden in Its Architecture |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/notre-dames-fire-reveals-a-major-surprise-hidden-in-its-architecture |website=[[ScienceAlert]] |access-date=12 April 2023 |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605123301/https://www.sciencealert.com/notre-dames-fire-reveals-a-major-surprise-hidden-in-its-architecture |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ouellette |first=Jennifer |date=5 January 2024 |title=Notre Dame cathedral first to use iron reinforcements in 12th century |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/notre-dame-cathedral-first-to-use-iron-reinforcements-in-12th-century/ |access-date=6 January 2024 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us |archive-date=22 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122002228/https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/notre-dame-cathedral-first-to-use-iron-reinforcements-in-12th-century/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0280945 | doi-access=free | title=Notre-Dame de Paris: The first iron lady? Archaeometallurgical study and dating of the Parisian cathedral iron reinforcements | year=2023 | last1=l'Héritier | first1=Maxime | last2=Azéma | first2=Aurélia | last3=Syvilay | first3=Delphine | last4=Delqué-Kolic | first4=Emmanuelle | last5=Beck | first5=Lucile | last6=Guillot | first6=Ivan | last7=Bernard | first7=Mathilde | last8=Dillmann | first8=Philippe | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=18 | issue=3 | pages=e0280945 | pmid=36920957 | pmc=10016711 | bibcode=2023PLoSO..1880945L }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:Notre Dame Cathedral Renovation Feb 29,2020.jpg|Ongoing stabilization of Notre-Dame in February 2020
File:Notre Dame restoration long view Feb 29 2020.jpg|Stabilization of Notre-Dame and removal of roof debris and scaffolding in February 2020
File:Notre-Dame de Paris en 2023 et la grue du chantier.JPG|Front view of Notre-Dame in January 2023
File:Notre-Dame de Paris reconstruction.jpg|Southwest corner of Notre-Dame in September 2023
</gallery>

====Reopening====
{{main|Reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris}}
The cathedral [[Reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris|reopened]] on 7 December 2024 in a ceremony presided over by [[Laurent Ulrich]], the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop of Paris]], and attended by 1,500 world leaders and dignitaries such as [[Donald Trump|US President-elect Donald Trump]], [[Jill Biden|US first lady Jill Biden]], [[William, Prince of Wales|Britain's Prince William]], and [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy|Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy]]. [[Pope Francis]] declined an invitation from Macron to attend the reopening, holding a consistory in Rome to create 21 new cardinals on that day and planning a visit to the French island of [[Corsica]] the following week.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Adamson |first1=Thomas |last2=Leicester |first2=John |date=December 7, 2024 |title=An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on |url=https://apnews.com/article/france-notre-dame-reopening-paris-macron-f2543dc70b4d89b256cde9aa53bbbd44 |access-date=December 7, 2024 |website=Associated Press |archive-date=7 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207133826/https://apnews.com/article/france-notre-dame-reopening-paris-macron-f2543dc70b4d89b256cde9aa53bbbd44 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241123-pope-to-skip-notre-dame-opening-for-corsica-visit|title=Pope to skip Notre Dame opening in Paris for Corsica visit|publisher=France 24|date=23 November 2024|accessdate=23 November 2024|archive-date=27 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127233823/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241123-pope-to-skip-notre-dame-opening-for-corsica-visit|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Colour and controversy===
The colour of the restored interior would be "a shock" to some returning visitors, according to General [[Jean-Louis Georgelin]], the French army officer heading the restoration. "The whiteness under the dirt was quite spectacular".<ref>"The Art Newspaper", "Notre Dame's fresh interior—cleaned with controversial latex paste—will deliver a 'shock', restoration chief promises," 22 November 2022.</ref> The stone was sprayed with a latex solution to remove accumulated grime and soot. The cleaning of the church interior with latex solutions was criticised by Michael Daley of Artwatch UK, referring to the earlier cleaning of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] in London. He asked, "Is there any good basis for wishing to present an artificially brightened and ahistorical white interior?"<ref>"Notre Dame's fresh interior—cleaned with controversial latex paste—will deliver a 'shock', restoration chief promises", "The Art Newspaper", 22 November 2022.</ref> Jean-Michel Guilemont of the French Ministry of culture responded, "The interior elevations will regain their original colour, since the chapels and side aisles were very dirty. Of course it is not a white colour. The stone has a blonde colour, and the architects are very attentive to obtaining a patina which respects the centuries".<ref>"The Art Newspaper", 22 November 2022.</ref>

===New window controversy===
[[File:Notre Dame, Paris, France - panoramio (47).jpg|thumb|right|St. Eloi Chapel window proposed for replacement by a modernist window]]
A new controversy arose in late  2024 over a proposal by French President Macron and the Archbishop [[Laurent Ulrich]] to replace six stained glass windows installed in chapels in the 19th century by [[Viollet-le-Duc]] and undamaged by the fire, with six modernist windows designed by contemporary artist [[Claire Tabouret]].  

Tabouret won a competition sponsored by the French government for a new window design. Her proposed windows would realistically depict people from different cultures praying. The proposed windows are strongly opposed  by preservationists, who want the cathedral to be restored  exactly as it was before the fire.<ref>"The Art Newspaper", 19 December 2024</ref>