FR version

The President of the Republic has decided on his own, without any regard for the heritage law or Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, to replace the stained glass windows in six out of the seven chapels on the south aisle with contemporary creations, after organising a competition.

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. The stained glass windows in the ambulatory, choir and transept are complemented by purely decorative grisaille windows in the nave chapels. Here there is a search for architectural unity and a hierarchy of space that is an integral part of his work, and one of the aims of the work was to rediscover it. In fact, the work in progress includes cleaning and consolidating all the stained glass windows.

Shortly after the fire, threats were made against the windows, which, it should be remembered, were not touched or even damaged by the fire, and which are classified as historic monuments in the same way as the rest of the building. But the Ministry of Culture was very clear, through the voice of the Minister at the time: there was no question of touching them. This is why the possibility of replacing them was never examined by the Commission nationale du patrimoine et de l'architecture, the body responsible for advising the Minister on major works on historic monuments. Viollet-le-Duc is a major figure in French art, recognised by numerous publications and exhibitions, including the one organised in 2015 at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine. 

However, during his visit to Notre-Dame on Friday 8 December 2023, at the same time as revealing the excellent news of the creation of a Musée de l'Œuvre in the Hôtel-Dieu, Emmanuel Macron announced that the stained-glass windows in six of the seven chapels in the south aisle would be removed and replaced by contemporary stained-glass windows that would be the subject of a competition. To defuse the protests, which he already knew would be strong, the President of the Republic added that these windows would be exhibited in the museum, which is absurd. After all, these stained glass windows, which are - deliberately - purely decorative compositions with geometric decorations, are only of interest in situ, as an integral part of the architecture. They would have no meaning outside the architecture, and would take up a very large space in the rooms of the Hôtel Dieu, preventing other works from being displayed there, without any benefit to the public. If these windows were to be replaced, they would certainly end up in storage crates, because exhibiting them in the museum would actually double the scandal of their removal.

What sense does it make to restore the cathedral to its last known historical state (before 15 April 2019), that of Viollet-le-Duc, only to deprive the building of an essential element that Viollet-le-Duc wanted? How can it be justified to restore stained glass windows that survived the disaster and then immediately remove them? Who gave the Head of State a mandate to alter a cathedral that does not belong to him, but to everyone?
Contemporary stained glass windows have their place in old architecture when the original ones have disappeared. They are not intended to replace works that already exist.

Emmanuel Macron wants to put the stamp of the 21st century on Notre-Dame de Paris. Perhaps a little modesty would be preferable. We won't be so cruel as to point out that this mark already exists: the fire. A fire that was certainly accidental, but for which it has been abundantly demonstrated that the State, before and during its presidency, bears a heavy responsibility.
The rebirth of the cathedral was made possible by a vast national and international mobilisation, thanks to the contributions of thousands of donors who wanted to restore it to its historic state. Do we really believe that they will accept that its restoration be altered by Emmanuel Macron's desire to leave his mark on it?

The signatories of this petition are therefore calling for the Ministry of Culture's initial decision to retain the stained glass windows designed by Viollet-le-Duc in the cathedral to be respected, and for the President of the Republic's decision to equip six of the seven chapels in the south aisle with contemporary stained glass windows to be abandoned.

This petition was launched by La Tribune de l'Art.

The Sites & Monuments association is the first signatory, through its president Julien Lacaze.