The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre-Dame - In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.
GQ US|October 2024
In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.
By Joshua Hammer- Photographs by Patrick Zachmann
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre-Dame - In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.

Some time after six in the evening on April 15, 2019, Rémi Fromont was sitting at the Brasserie Saint-Malo, a lively café in Montparnasse, Paris, when his phone rang. "Notre-Dame is on fire," said a friend on the other end of the line.

Fromont, the chief architect of historic monuments at the French Ministry of Culture, assumed that the call was a joke. But when the caller insisted that he was dead serious, Fromont leapt out of his chair, got on his bike, and pedaled north toward the cathedral.

Fromont is a slim, elegant man of 46 with a cherubic face framed by tight brown curls. Born in Vincennes, outside Paris, he had spent his career renovating sites of national importance, and was intimately familiar with the medieval structure. Notre-Dame was a tinderbox, and if the fire couldn't be controlled, he knew the result would be calamitous.

Fifteen minutes later, Fromont arrived at Notre-Dame de Paris, on the Île de la Cité. Wisps of smoke were rising from the cathedral's lead roof covering. An ominous glow was beginning to envelop the Flèche, the over 300-foot-tall spire added by the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1859. But beneath the spire lay a greater risk: the cathedral's medieval roof frame, a roughly 300-foot-long, 30-foot-high assemblage of medieval axe-hewn oak beams so dense and intricate that it had been nicknamed la forêt-the forest.

A colleague who had arrived a few minutes earlier approached Fromont. He, too, knew about ancient wood's combustibility.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GQ USView all
Paul Mescal Enters the Arena - The shorts get shorter. The roles get bolder. The fans grow ever more ravenous. Now Paul Mescal is trading his indie tears for blockbuster blood as the centerpiece of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II.
GQ US

Paul Mescal Enters the Arena - The shorts get shorter. The roles get bolder. The fans grow ever more ravenous. Now Paul Mescal is trading his indie tears for blockbuster blood as the centerpiece of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II.

The shorts get shorter. The roles get bolder. The fans grow ever more ravenous. Now Paul Mescal is trading his indie tears for blockbuster blood as the centerpiece of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
From Budapest to Guadalajara With Mexico's F1 MEGASTAR
GQ US

From Budapest to Guadalajara With Mexico's F1 MEGASTAR

FORMULA 1 drivers like to say that there is very little race car driving involved in driving race cars these days.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
GRIN
GQ US

GRIN

Artist Chase Hall paints his canvases with coffee, making large-scale works that examine mixed-race identity in America. Now, on the eve of the biggest show of his career, Hall is reconciling his fractured past with his blindingly bright future.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
can THESE GUYS MAKE ROCK Bands COOL AGAIN ???
GQ US

can THESE GUYS MAKE ROCK Bands COOL AGAIN ???

When FONTAINES D.C. were living in Dublin and making their first album, Dogrel, the five band members would pile into drummer Tom Coll's car and blast their freshly recorded songs through the speakers.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
VAGES RISING
GQ US

VAGES RISING

No place in America is more prone to reinvention-and Las Vegas is new all over again. New food, new art, new sports, new heat, and, yes, new Sphere. We sent BRETT MARTIN to take stock of the great American city of the future-and find out whether this Vegas is the best version yet.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
THE SEASIN OF THE NOVA KNICKS
GQ US

THE SEASIN OF THE NOVA KNICKS

LIKE SO MANY College friends, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mikal Bridges were resigned to going their separate ways after school.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
The Original! Reversible! Luxury Sport Watch!
GQ US

The Original! Reversible! Luxury Sport Watch!

Three new versions of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s legendary Reverso arrive just in time for the resurgence of this unsung icon of sport-watch history.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
'90s-Inspired Sneakers Have Never Looked This Fresh
GQ US

'90s-Inspired Sneakers Have Never Looked This Fresh

THE 1990s, a golden era for fashion and sport, left an indelible mark on global culture. It was a decade of high-flying slam dunks and superstar athletes with runway-worthy personal style.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Why Does Everyone Have Big, Fake White Teeth Now?
GQ US

Why Does Everyone Have Big, Fake White Teeth Now?

Veneers were once a dirty secret. Now they're the new luxury status symbol, and the famous and wealthy are flocking to Hollywood's favorite dentist in search of ever more perfect teeth.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
Can Anyone Catch Lamar Jackson? - There is an awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback
GQ US

Can Anyone Catch Lamar Jackson? - There is an awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback

There is an awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback like he's the football version of Paul Bunyan, if Bunyan ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.

time-read
9 mins  |
October 2024