It’s the event of the week, of the year, perhaps of the century for some. Whatever happens, believers or not, Parisians or not, this moment will be remembered. More than five years after the devastating fire of April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris reopens its doors.
This Saturday, numerous sequences are planned and all should be broadcast on France Télévisions, but also live on 20 Minutes. Except that between censorship from the Barnier government and the Christmas presents to manage (oh yes, well…), you didn’t have time to see what was going to happen? We’ll give you the overview.
Saturday at 7 p.m.: Screening of a tribute film
Unless you are cathedral enthusiasts who will turn on their television at 6:30 a.m. to follow an entire day dedicated to Notre-Dame, the events should begin around 6:30 p.m. with the arrival of personalities, heads of state, crowned heads and celebrities on the square.
The start of the ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the screening of a film which will recall all the events which occurred between April 15, 2019, the fire, and this reopening on December 7, 2024. A film which will be the opportunity to pay tribute to all those – firefighters, builders, architects, restorers – who helped save the building and bring it back to life.
After this film, a text by Louis Aragon will be read by Éric Ruf, administrator of the Comédie Française, followed by a musical moment performed by the brothers Renaud (violinist) and Gauthier (cellist) Capuçon.
7:20 p.m.: Speech by the President of the Republic (brief, we promise)
It is only after these suspended moments, around 7:20 p.m., that the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, will speak. A speech – his second of the week – that the Elysée ensures is brief and which will be followed by a Marseillaise.
7:40 p.m.: We knock on the door and enter
At 7:40 p.m. the real reopening ceremony will begin. The Archbishop of Paris, Msg Laurent Ulrich, will cross the small square to go to the doors of the cathedral for a first rite which will consist of addressing the cathedral, as if to a person, in a form of prayer.
He will then knock with his crozier on the doors and receive in response a song from the master of the cathedral which will carry the voice of Our Lady. A sequence which will be reproduced three times in a row.
After this sequence, he will enter the cathedral. A moment which should prove moving for the Archbishop of Paris, appointed in 2022, and who had therefore never been able to take possession of his cathedral, his bishop’s seat and sign of his authority. A bit as if Emmanuel Macron had only discovered the Elysée in 2019…
Emmanuel Macron, in fact, and his wife Brigitte will be at the head of the procession of guests who will enter Notre-Dame.
8:15 p.m.: The organ is reborn in the cathedral
Around 8:15 p.m., the archbishop will continue with his second rite, the awakening of the organ, to whom he will address and who will respond to him, eight times. The opportunity to hear the new voice of the organ which has been largely spared but greatly refreshed during its five years of silence.
Finally, the third rite will take place, the psalms and the song of the Magnificat, for the attention of the Virgin Mary.
9 p.m.: End of religious songs, time for humans
The service will end around 9 p.m. with the God bless youa great song of thanksgiving.
Then, in the absence of a Pope, there will be pop with a concert bringing together Clara Luciani, Garou, Vianney, but also classical music and a DJ Set which will round off the evening. The concert is scheduled to last more than two hours and should therefore end before midnight.