The plans to replace stained-glass windows in Notre Dame Cathedral’s side chapels with contemporary creations have been widely criticised.
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition to retain the original windows, and some have even called the plan an act of “vandalism”.
A report by The Guardian cites critics as saying that the change of stained glass would hamper the architectural harmony of the historical building.
Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the 13th-century cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in April 2019.
Macron then announced that six of the seven chapels in the south aisle would have their windows removed and replaced with contemporary stained-glass windows.
As per the report, the concept is said to have come from Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, who wrote to the Élysée saying he wanted the state to construct a series of six new windows. In response, Macron approved the idea.
But, the plan has faced criticism. People have signed a petition that was established a little over a fortnight ago to save the original windows.
It read: “The stained glass windows in Notre Dame designed by Viollet-le-Duc were created as a coherent whole. It is a genuine creation that the architect wanted to be faithful to the cathedral’s gothic origins.”
Didier Rykner, who created the petition, believes that a far more modern gesture would be to commission new windows for the cathedral’s north tower. It is the place where firefighters fought the hardest to rescue the structure. Rykner is the founder and editor of the online magazine La Tribune de l’Art.
Notre Dame to get unique fire protection system
Paris’s Notre Dame will be equipped with a unique fire protection system when it reopens next year, the head of the body charged with rebuilding the cathedral after a devastating blaze said Wednesday.
The landmark church, badly damaged by a fire in 2019, is to reopen in December 2024 after extensive repairs.
“All precautions have been taken for a complete rethink of its fire protection,” Philippe Jost, president of the Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris public body, told a parliamentary commission.
Notre Dame will notably be equipped with a vaporisation system, currently being installed below the roof and in the spire, that Jost said would immediately stop any outbreaking fire from spreading.
(With inputs from agencies)
