Macron and Archbishop Select Claire Tabouret for Notre-Dame's New Stained Glass by 2026 Amid Opposition

Dec 18, 2024, 03:46 PM

French President Emmanuel Macron and the Archbishop of Paris have selected artist Claire Tabouret to design new contemporary stained glass windows for Notre-Dame Cathedral. The 43-year-old French painter, in collaboration with the Simon-Marq stained glass workshop, will replace six of the seven bays on the south side of the cathedral, originally designed by 19th-century architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. The new windows, intended to be installed by the end of 2026, aim to leave a modern mark on the cathedral, which was devastated by a fire in 2019 and has since been fully restored. The project has faced opposition from heritage defenders, who argue that the original windows, which survived the fire, should not be replaced. A petition against the project has gathered nearly 245,000 signatures.