This file photo taken on May 15, 2019 shows rubble and the cross at the altar inside the the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral after it sustained major fire damage the previous month, during a visit by the Canadian prime minister in Paris on May 15, 2019. – The April 15, fire destroyed the roof and steeple of the 850-year-old Gothic cathedral.
But the prospective changes have already sparked criticism, with around 100 public figures putting their names to an opinion piece in right-wing newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday saying they “entirely undermine the decor and religious space” of the Gothic landmark. One Paris-based architect told The Art Newspaper that this risked turning Notre-Dame “into Disneyland”.
The altar will remain in place, but other items such as the tabernacle and baptistery will be rejigged, while most of the confessionals will move to the first floor, leaving only four in the main section.