Notre-Dame-de-Paris: what Macron wanted was banned by the archbishop for the reopening

The reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris has & has been the source of many disagreements between the clergy and Emmanuel Macron. The Church has prevented him to impose one's will.

For Emmanuel Macron, the opening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris, organized on December 7, is symbolic. It is the testimony of a promise kept, despite a lackluster five-year term, governed by a largely unpopular president: in October, he gathered 78% of dissatisfied voters according to the monthly barometer of Ifop.

As the former Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, suggests to the newspaper Le Point, the reconstruction of the cathedral is a good opportunity for the head of state to restore his image: “He was passionate about the project, following all the stages, he asked to see the images, the models, even the artistic proposals for the liturgical furniture and the chairs, but without interfering in the choices. Especially since with Covid this project has been transformed for him, even more than its beginnings, as a symbol of our resilience as a nation.”

However, before the fire, Emmanuel Macron had never responded to the monument's calls for help. For good reason, in 2018, the cathedral was in desperate need of donations to restore its legendary spire. In power for over a year, the head of state had never bothered to visit it, even briefly.

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It was only once it was buried under the flames that it regained its interest in the eyes of the president. On the day of the incident, and according to the account given by the newspaper Le Point, he appeared solemn, his face closed, already foreseeing a future reconstruction: “We will rebuild this cathedral, all together,” he had promised. His ambition seemed excessive. By setting a five-year reconstruction target, he was the target of harsh criticism. Some accused him of maintaining unrealizable pretensions, due to the circumstances of Eric Fischer, director of the Fondation de l'OElig;uvre Notre-Dame, which assumed decades of restoration.

But for Emmanuel Macron, this project is also his. If there are decisions to be made, it is to him that one must address them. And he does not hesitate to let the clergy know. Indeed, according to information from Le Point, the president did not back down in front of the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, offering to “welcome the prelate” inside the building to hand him the keys in front of the cameras, before beginning a sententious speech in the heart of Notre-Dame. A proposal deemed presumptuous and which did not take into account the “ancestral tradition according to which the archbishop, master in “his” cathedral, strikes the closed door of the building three times with his crosier and enters it alone, first, to “sanctify” the “moment”.

The discussions were clearly very long, but Bishop Laurent Ulrich did not satisfy the president, remaining rigorously firm on his positions: “We are within our walls by entering through the door that I open”, he confided to the newspaper. His determination allowed him to assert himself in this confrontation, by preventing Emmanuel Macron from implementing what he had planned. To his great displeasure, the head of state will be content with the forecourt to speak during the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris, this Saturday, December 7.