In the face of popular pressure, French President Emmanuel Macron has finally abandoned his intention to give a speech inside Notre-Dame de Paris as he intended to do in defiance of custom and tradition.
In just under three weeks, to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, which was almost destroyed by fire in April 2019, is due to be reopened.
Believers and visitors alike are looking forward to rediscovering this cherished monument, which has undergone a gigantic five-year restoration project to rise from the ashes.
The French President had announced his intention to give a speech at the ceremony, inside the church. The decision provoked a wave of indignation in France because it was unprecedented and contrary to centuries of custom. The decision by the Archbishop of Paris to give in to the president’s whims for the occasion was also criticised.
Alexis Brézet, editor-in-chief of Le Figaro, described it in an editorial as “one speech too many.” The kings of France, he recalled, many of whom have knelt before the altar of Notre Dame de Paris, would never have imagined speaking there. Napoleon himself, though no “monster of humility,” kept silent on the day of his coronation on 1804, December 2nd. And Charles de Gaulle remained silent at the time of the Liberation of Paris, letting the bells and choirs do the talking. To find a similar speech, we have to go back to 1793 and the sad speech of the Conventionnel Chaumette, during the French Revolution, when Notre-Dame de Paris was transformed by revolutionary madness into a temple of the goddess Reason.
Following in the footsteps of the bloodthirsty prosecutor of the Paris Commune at the height of the Terror was clearly not to the credit of the President of the Fifth Republic, Emmanuel Macron. In the end, common sense and moderation prevailed and Macron agreed not to give his speech inside the cathedral. Archbishop Ulrich, who should never have agreed, eventually reverted to his original position, which was to oppose the speech. Macron will therefore simply say a few words outside, on the church forecourt, like so many others before him.
In the run-up to the inauguration, a highly symbolic ceremony was held on Friday, November 15th in the streets of Paris. A torchlight procession accompanied the return of the statue of Our Lady, also known as the Virgin of the Pillar, to its original place in the cathedral.
The 13th-century statue had been miraculously saved from the flames when the burning roof structure collapsed. It had temporarily found refuge in the church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, the parish of the kings of France, opposite the Louvre. Hundreds of anonymous Parisians accompanied her with their songs and prayers for her return ‘home.’
However, for reasons of preservation and security, it was not possible to take the original statue through the streets of Paris. So it was a replica that travelled along the quays of the Seine for the procession. The faithful witnessed the departure of the ‘real’ Our Lady in a lorry, and then walked to the cathedral with a copy of the statue by their side. The original statue, which came from a cloister on the Île de la Cité and had been in the building since 1855, was returned to its place and blessed by the Archbishop of Paris. Those who took part in the procession were overwhelmed with emotion, greeting the statue with enthusiastic “Ave Marias.” Many anonymous people made the sign of the cross as the statue passed by.
