“The renovation of Notre-Dame ? Without hesitation the most significant project of my career!”, analyses the ironworker from Gard, Cyril Théophile

A Notre-Dame, Cyril et son ami Daniel, en plein montage du cadre de ventilation du plateau liturgique.

From April to October 2024, the craftsman based in Bouillargues, among other things, created the access ramps to the north belfry, during the last phase of restoration of the capital's emblematic monument.

It is in his workshop established since 2002 at the entrance to the village of Bouillargues that the ironworker Cyril Théophile finally found the time to receive us.

Back from Normandy, leaving for Paris this Saturday, November 30, the busy, smiling and passionate fifty-year-old willingly agrees to talk in front of his forge, surrounded by his machines that look like instruments of torture (band saw, flat material guillotine, etc.) about what, to date, has without hesitation been the most significant project of his career.

“Long traumatized by the shocking images of the dramatic fire at the cathedral, two years ago I received this unexpected call, offering me the chance to take on two lots on a renovation project in the capital. It was Notre-Dame-de-Paris!” , recalls the professional who was awarded the prestigious title of Master Craftsman of Art last year.

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Ventilation frames, handrails

From April to October 2024, Cyril and his lifelong friend, metalworker Daniel Roig, also from Nîmes, worked partly in Château-neuf-sur-Loire, then on site, in the heart of the cathedral, on the assembly of all the technical ventilation frames at the level of the liturgical platform of Notre-Dame, as well as the creation of the handrails, these elegant hammered steel ramps, recreated within the various spiral staircases of the north belfry and the north and south transepts.

“Working in a setting like this was an incredible experience. Not to mention a real stroke of luck”, analyzes Cyril who remembers, today with a smile, these four pieces of ramp forgotten in Nîmes and that he had to transport to the TGV, at the station, then in the streets of Paris, on the shoulder (!), in order to bring them to the construction site urgently.

Construction sites in Switzerland, on the Côte d'Azur and in the Middle East

If during the seven months of this adventure the work was intense, the two daily showers that had to be taken on site (to protect against exposure to ambient lead, Editor's note) were particularly restrictive, nothing could, in the end, have altered the enthusiasm of the professional who had always been used to working in the most prestigious places (the French embassy, ​​palaces in Switzerland and on the Côte d'Azur, palaces in the Middle East, etc.).

Driven by perfection

“On a daily basis, under the direction of architect Philippe Villeneuve, we had the immense privilege of working alongside the best: stonemasons, carpenters, stained glass artists, etc. Passionate people, like we, driven by the concern for perfection, for excellence, in the accomplishment of their task for one of the most honorable causes: to breathe new life into one of the emblems of France! “, summarizes Cyril who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his company “Faut le fer” this year.

While his two sons Steven and Thomas have obviously followed in his wake (they also created their ironwork company a year ago), Cyril Théophile would like to see himself hanging up his hammer and anvil in 10 years, “but not before!” , he specifies.

Time for him to perhaps add an additional exceptional string to his bow, namely the renovation of the ironwork of the Nîmes Arena when the time comes. “The monument which, in my native Gard, reaches at least the height of the cathedral”.