Paris: Massive oak trusses were spectacularly lifted from a barge onto Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in an effort to reconstruct the destroyed structure and bring it back to life by December 2024.
Crowds gathered along a bridge over the Seine River and on its banks to watch the delicate operation, which involved trusses weighing 7 to 7.5 tonnes.
The Seine will be at the centre of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, said Transport Minister Clement Beaune. "I think it's a magical moment for a lot of Parisians this morning," he added.
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Even the heavy traffic anticipated during the summer Olympics, according to Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who was chosen by French President Emmanuel Macron to oversee Notre Dame's reconstruction, won't halt work on the renowned cathedral.
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In order to complete the cathedral by December 2024, he said, "We will work on it during the Olympics." This is our intention.
After being destroyed by fire in 2019, Notre Dame, which stands on an island in the Seine and watches over old Paris, was decided to be rebuilt using traditional techniques.
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The trusses, which are 12 to 13 metres (39 to 43 feet) high and 14 to 16 metres (46 to 52 feet) wide, were built by skilled carpenters using Mediaeval techniques.
They were being installed on the roof near the iconic spire, which burned to cinders, and the two arms of the transept, the wooden skeleton of Notre Dame. They were being held in place by ropes. According to a statement, as work progresses, the silhouette of Notre Dame, which is currently engulfed in scaffolding, should become more visible on the skyline.