Paris is in a constant state of reconstruction. Centuries-old buildings have been retrofitted over the years with indoor plumbing, electricity, telephones, and internet connections. Some buildings need to be strengthened as old bricks and mortar deteriorate. The building we’re staying in will undergo a renovation after we depart.
By far the biggest construction project in the city is the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, which was heavily damaged in a fire on April 15, 2019. There’s a huge crane hovering over Île-de-la-Cité (see below). With the exception of the façade, the building is shrouded in scaffolding. The north side of the building has a covered walkway with pictures and explanations of the rebuilding process. The south side of the island (on the left of the picture) is a construction staging area, with heavy equipment and a multistory modular edifice for contracting offices. Yesterday morning we watched from a nearby bridge as a crew inspected one of the towers on the front of the cathedral. You can see the cherry picker in the photo. When we came back from our travels yesterday afternoon, National Police had blocked the bridges to Île-de-la-Cité. President Macron was inspecting the construction site on the third anniversary of the fire.
The preservation instincts of the French are a sharp contrast to what’s seen in the United States. In some cities (looking at you, Dallas and Seattle), perfectly good buildings are razed for ugly contemporary construction. A small bungalow can be bulldozed and a starter castle or two built in its place. A 25-year-old building can be considered a historic landmark. While some old buildings may have outlived their usefulness, others can undoubtedly be saved with conscious retrofitting. This results in less waste going to landfills and more affordable housing and workplaces. The French believe in building to last, Americans are more into planned obsolescence.
Postscript, 4/17/22: We ambled over to the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower today to visit the Rue Cler neighborhood, where we rented an apartment the last two times we were in Paris. Even the Eiffel Tower has scaffolding around it.
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