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French President Emmanuel Macron has toured Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral live on TV, giving the public a first look inside the building since much of it was destroyed or damaged in a huge fire in 2019.From the spire to the stained glass, it has been completely transformed. It is not just a renovation after the fire, but a complete overhaul including removing decades of crud and soot built up since the last restoration.Here we take a look at some of the key features of the repair work and how it was achieved. ...The most striking feature of the renovated cathedral is the luminosity of the stonework. This is because all the limestone blocks have been cleaned, or in some parts replaced.Replacement stone was sourced in quarries in northern France. Experts were able to detect tiny features in the original stone – like certain fossils – that helped them to determine the geographical origin.The vast majority of the masonry was undamaged, but it was covered not just in age-old accretions of dust and dirt from the past, but also in a layer of soot and lead powder from the fire. It was cleaned with high-power vacuums, and then with a spray which peeled off to remove the dirt. ...
I think the BBC article cited in my original post talks about the gargoyles.
It does, but not that particular one that wasn't on the sides of the roof. It was on the roof itself. Given that the roof evidently collapsed it may not have made it thru the fire.
Video of Macron visit: https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c5ym13y6k73o
