ONTHECOOL,sunnyeveningof April14,I walked
alongtheQuaideMontebelloontheLeftBankof
Paris,looking,witha familiarsenseof wonderment,
acrosstheriverto thegreatcathedralof NotreDame,
wherethemainSundaymasswasbeingheld.
Nowherecouldofferupa masslikeNotre
Dame.Fromthesoaringdescantsof thechoirto
thestupendousrumbleof its8000-pipeorganto the
incomparableflourishesof filigreestonework,this
wasa placewherereligion,art,historyandanentire
nation’ssenseof beingconverged.
Lessthan 24 hourslater,the850-year-oldcathedral
wasa burned-outshell.
Theblazebeganin anatticandracedwithterrifying
speedalongtheroof,devouringdozensof ancient
woodenbeamsandtopplingthe40-metrehighspire.
Asanyonewhohaslivedin Parisknows,the
cathedralis morethananarchitecturaladornment,a
placeof worshipora touristsite.Asthecity’smayor,
AnneHidalgo,a toughsocialistrarelygivento displays
of sentimentality,saidthroughtears:“NotreDameis
thewholestory of Paris.” It had survived wars,
revolutions, pillagings and scandals.
In recent years, as France has struggled with social
divisionand terrorism, the cathedral has taken on a
newroleas a symbol of certainty and permanence, a
reminderthat the city has come through worse times
thananyof its current inhabitants are likely to know.
It hasplayed a part in my own life, during the five
yearsI lived, sometimes precariously, in a pokey
apartmentjust down the river. To catch a glimpse
of thecathedral’s Gothic magnificence was to be
remindedof why you’d come to Paris in the first place.
Mylastsighting of it was on the way to have dinner
withfriends in the Latin Quarter. My wife, Lesley, and
I hadtravelled from London to watch our son run in
theParisMarathon. With spring in the air, and the
cherrytrees in full bloom, I don’t think I have ever
seentheold place looking so serene and beautiful.
AsFrench President Emmanuel Macron says, it must
berebuilt.This will be a challenge not only for those
whoselives it has touched, but for the whole world.NOTRE DAME
‘The whole
story of Paris’
TheWeeklycontributorWilliam
Langleymarvelledatthecathedral’s
beautyjustonedaybeforeit burned.
In
Brief
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April 1512 The Australian Women’s Weekly | MAY 2019