On Tuesday, chainsaw-wielding tree surgeons in Berce scaled the special oaks to fell them in a race against the clock. Eight of the trees - destined for the most monumental part of the spire - were found in the Forest of Berce that once belonged to the Kings of France. Understandably, the dimensions required for Notre Dame's anointed timbers are clinically precise: Many trunks have to measure over 1 meter (more than 3 feet) wide and 18 meters (60 feet) long. The inside was such a lattice of beams and supports that it was affectionately called the “forest.” Calls to reinforce it with fireproof concrete were dismissed, even after such material helped limit the fallout from a blaze in the Gothic Nantes Cathedral last year. Reconstruction of a 12th-century cathedral such as Notre Dame in wood is a daunting prospect. we are happy (that) the entire industry - from foresters to sawyers - is mobilized to meet this challenge,” said Michel Druilhe, President of France Bois Foret, a national interprofessional forestry network.
“Given the place occupied by the cathedral in the hearts of the French, in the history of France and the world. Here you can see a high definition photo of Notre Dame Cathedral that we took from a bridge over the River Seine, and in this image you can see parts of the East and South sides, the south being closest to the river bank with the trees, plus you can see the spire that was designed by Violet Le Duc in the 1800s and the famous flying buttress supports that just add to this impressive gothic. Some 1,000 oaks in more than 200 French forests, both private and public, were chosen to make the frame of the cathedral transept and spire - destined to be admired on the Paris skyline for potentially hundreds of years. And that began a nationwide tree hunt, culminating in a painstaking selection in January and February of this year. He announced it would be rebuilt exactly as it was before. Last July amid a public outcry, French President Emmanuel Macron ended speculation that the 19th century peak designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc could be rebuilt in a modern style.