Heatwave threatens France's fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral

[webfact]

Heatwave threatens France's fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral

 

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the damaged roof of Notre-Dame de Paris during restoration work, three months after a fire that devastated the cathedral in Paris, France, July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

 

PARIS (Reuters) - The searing temperatures gripping France risk precipitating the collapse of Notre-Dame de Paris' fire-ravaged vaulted ceiling, the cathedral's chief architect said on Wednesday.

 

The centuries-old Notre-Dame was devastated in April by an inferno that gutted the ceiling and sent the cathedral's towering spire crashing through a part of the ceiling.

 

"I am very worried about the heatwave," chief architect Philippe Villeneuve said. "What I fear is that the joints or the masonry, as they dry, lose their coherence, their cohesion and their structural qualities and that all of sudden, the vault gives way."

 

Villeneuve said the vaulted ceiling "could very well" collapse and that unlike the bell towers and other parts of the cathedral, experts had still not been able to access the ceiling from above or below.

 

Eighty out of mainland France’s 96 administrative departments were on Orange alert – the second highest level of warning - on Wednesday as a blistering heatwave intensified.

 

State forecaster Meteo France predicted Paris would swelter in record temperatures of around 42 Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) on Thursday, the expected peak of the summer's second intense heatwave. The capital’s current record of 40.4 C (104.7 F) was registered in 1947.

 

President Emmanuel Macron has promised Notre-Dame will be rebuilt within five years. Workmen have erected a giant white tarpaulin over the gutted roof, stabilised the cathedral's pinnacles and placed dozens of sensors to detect any movement.

 

The blaze at the cathedral, built over nearly 200 years starting in the middle of the 12th century and long a symbol of Paris, prompted an outpouring of sadness in France and around the world.

 

(Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-25

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[bert bloggs]

So glad i saw it years ago in all its glory ,

[digger70]

9 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

So glad i saw it years ago in all its glory ,

Wasted good money on a crappy old building  .Better use the money for people in Need and blow the thing up.

[moon0205]

21 hours ago, digger70 said:

Wasted good money on a crappy old building  .Better use the money for people in Need and blow the thing up.

How stupid can a comment be?

[digger70]

2 minutes ago, moon0205 said:

How stupid can a comment be?

Seems like yours was. The money is better allocated to the People in need than Wasted on bricks an mortar  

[overherebc]

34 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Seems like yours was. The money is better allocated to the People in need than Wasted on bricks an mortar  

There will be plenty of sheeple buying a stairway to heaven to ensure it gets rebuilt.

[Opl]

1 hour ago, digger70 said:

Seems like yours was. The money is better allocated to the People in need than Wasted on bricks an mortar  

In France we already have free healthcare, free education, housing aides, state assistance to raise children .. etc, etc...

"Bricks and mortar" are one of the reasons people from all over the world visit France - and Notre-Dame of Paris is part of world heritage.

Finally, it's of Paramount importance to rebuild Notre-Dame, just because it benefits everyone including "People in need" not limited to the French..  

[digger70]

17 hours ago, Opl said:

In France we already have free healthcare, free education, housing aides, state assistance to raise children .. etc, etc...

"Bricks and mortar" are one of the reasons people from all over the world visit France - and Notre-Dame of Paris is part of world heritage.

Finally, it's of Paramount importance to rebuild Notre-Dame, just because it benefits everyone including "People in need" not limited to the French..  

555555 pull the other one look at this   :   Homelessness in France is a significant social issue, one that is estimated to affect over 140,000 people, including 30,000 children, One study of homeless in Paris found that homeless people have a high degree of social proximity to other people living in conditions of poverty-----  Now tell me Are the poor looked after?----- don't talk about something you don't Know or don't want to know    

[Opl]

22 minutes ago, digger70 said:

555555 pull the other one look at this   :   Homelessness in France is a significant social issue, one that is estimated to affect over 140,000 people, including 30,000 children, One study of homeless in Paris found that homeless people have a high degree of social proximity to other people living in conditions of poverty-----  Now tell me Are the poor looked after?----- don't talk about something you don't Know or don't want to know    

Yes they are, absolutely. It is so true that people in need from other countries make their way to France, most of the time they prefer to stay in Paris and the nearest suburbs and therefore the housing capacities there are rapidly overcrowded. Not rebuilding Notre Dame is not the solution as Notre Dame is also an economic asset and above all , part of our cultural Identity as French, whatever our religious beliefs are. Maybe you know - or not- that housing costs in Paris and the nearest suburbs are very expensive, that's how the real estate market works and not only in France - and its not related to Notre Dame, so your argument is totally irrelevant to the OP topic's issue.