PARIS (AP) – The French general overseeing the reconstruction of fire-devastated Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is not saved yet because there’s still a risk its vaulted ceilings might collapse.
Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin told French broadcaster CNews on Sunday that “the cathedral is still in a state of peril” after last year’s fire, which destroyed its roof and toppled its 300-foot, 750-ton spire as the cathedral was undergoing renovations.
“Notre Dame is not saved because … there is an extremely important step ahead, which is to remove the scaffolding that had been built around the spire” before the fire, he said.
The rector of Notre Dame, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, told the AP last month that the cathedral is still so fragile there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because the scaffolding may fall onto the vaulted ceilings.
A former chief of staff of France’s armed forces, Georgelin was named by French President Emmanuel Macron to lead the reconstruction effort for Notre Dame.