Notre Dame de Paris: bells sounded for the first time since the 2019 fire

The bells of Notre Dame de Paris in Paris rang out Friday for the first time since the 2019 fire that destroyed the historic cathedral, AFP reporters said.

The sound of the eight bells in the north bell tower of Notre Dame de Paris came a month before the cathedral reopened after five years of restoration work following the fire. “This is a beautiful, important, and symbolic step,” said Philippe Jost, who heads the public body charged with restoring the cathedral under difficult circumstances.

On the evening of April 19, 2019, Parisians and the world watched in amazement as the flames destroyed the World Heritage site. French President Emmanuel Macron quickly set the ambitious goal of rebuilding Notre Dame within five years and making it “even more beautiful” than before. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts mobilized for a restoration that cost hundreds of millions of euros.

Notre-Dame de Paris: plus qu'un mois avant la réouverture de la cathédrale pic.twitter.com/2tUlFV4e9n

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On Friday, just before 10:30 a.m., the bells rang one by one until all eight rang in harmony.
“It’s not perfect yet, but we’ll make it perfect,” said Alexandre Gougeon, who is in charge of repositioning the bells. “This first test was successful.”

The bells of Notre Dame cathedral ring out for first time since 2019 fire
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— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) November 8, 2024

The heaviest bell, called “Gabriel”, weighs more than four tons, and the lightest, “Jean-Marie”, is 800 kilograms. A weekend of ceremonies will mark the reopening of Notre Dame de Paris on December 7 and 8.

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