Seven and a half years after a major fire damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, another debate is taking shape around the famous building.
Workers are preparing to install six new stained-glass windows. The windows will show scenes linked to Pentecost, a major Christian feast.
The project has caused strong debate in France. More than 300,000 people signed a petition against the change. Heritage groups also took legal action to stop the work.
The main concern is simple. The new windows will replace 19th-century stained glass that has been part of Notre Dame for more than a century.
The new work comes from French artist Claire Tabouret. Her designs show landscapes and religious processions in a modern style.
The six windows will be placed on the south side of the cathedral’s main nave. They are expected to be installed by the end of the year.
Supporters say the new windows can add a new chapter to Notre Dame’s long history. Critics say the cathedral should not lose historic work to make room for modern art.
Julien Lacaze, president of the heritage group Sites & Monuments, has strongly opposed the plan. He said replacing historic work with new art is an unusual step for a protected monument.
The legal challenges against the project have not stopped the work. The new windows are now close to completion.
Philippe Jost, who leads the public body overseeing the rebuilding of Notre Dame, believes the public may accept the windows once they see them inside the cathedral.
He said people often react strongly before they see a new project in its final setting. Views can change after the work becomes part of the building.
The windows are being created at Atelier Simon-Marq in Reims, a city about 80 miles east of Paris.
The workshop has a long history. It was founded in 1640 and has worked with famous artists such as Marc Chagall and Joan Miró.
It also helped restore stained-glass windows at Reims Cathedral after World War I.
Today, the workshop operates inside a former church called Église du Sacré-Coeur. The building dates from the 1950s.
Inside the workshop, artists and glass workers paint and engrave pieces of glass. The pieces are then fired and joined to create the final windows.
The project connects several parts of French history. An old glass workshop is making modern art for an ancient Gothic cathedral.
Notre Dame was built over many centuries. Its first stone was laid in 1163, and the cathedral was completed in 1345.
The building has changed many times since then.
The 19th-century windows being replaced were created during a major restoration led by French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. His work became a major part of the cathedral’s modern identity.
Supporters of the new windows say this history shows that Notre Dame has always changed over time.
Laurent Ulrich, the archbishop of Paris, first suggested replacing the windows. President Emmanuel Macron later supported the idea.
An international competition was held before Tabouret was selected for the project.
Tabouret, who is 44, said she understood the strong feelings around Notre Dame. She also believes the project shows that France is willing to add modern art to historic religious spaces.
The public has already seen full-size versions of her designs. Around 340,000 people visited an exhibition of the work at the Grand Palais in Paris.
The response was mostly positive in French newspapers. That has given supporters more confidence before the windows are installed.
Still, Tabouret knows the project will not please everyone. Notre Dame attracts millions of visitors each year, and opinions about the new work are likely to remain divided.
The old windows will not be destroyed. They will be restored and displayed at other French sites.
Two will go to an architecture museum in Paris. Four will be displayed at a chateau north of Paris.
Other parts of Viollet-le-Duc’s work remain at Notre Dame. His famous spire, which collapsed in the 2019 fire, was rebuilt close to its original design.
That choice shows the balance at the heart of the restoration. Some parts of Notre Dame were rebuilt exactly as before. The new windows take a different path.
When they are installed, visitors will see both approaches inside the same cathedral.
The final reaction may decide how the debate is remembered. For now, the Notre Dame new windows project remains one of the most closely watched parts of the cathedral’s restoration.
