Notre-Dame’s Stained-Glass Fight Deepens After Paris Judge Rejects Emergency Halt
A Paris court has refused to stop the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, allowing the long-disputed replacement project to move forward for now. The panels are slated to be replaced by contemporary works by French artist Claire Tabouret (b. 1981) and the glassmakers Simon-Marq, a plan that has become one of the most contentious elements of the cathedral’s restoration.
In its ruling, the Paris Administrative Court said the original windows will be preserved and that the new ones could, at least in theory, be removed in the future. On that basis, the judge concluded that the project did not amount to an irreversible change to the Gothic landmark and therefore did not justify an urgent suspension. The court did not, however, decide whether the project itself is legal.
That distinction matters. The replacement scheme had already been vetoed by the National Commission of Patrimony and Architecture, and preservation groups have signaled that the legal battle is far from over. Sites & Monuments has said it will launch a challenge once the construction permit is issued.
The dispute has drawn unusually broad public attention since Emmanuel Macron announced the modernization plan in 2024. Within two days, more than 130,000 people signed a petition defending the existing windows, which were installed as part of the 19th-century restoration led by Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus. The original glass survived the 2019 fire that destroyed Notre-Dame’s spire and roof, adding another layer of symbolism to the debate over what should remain untouched.
Tabouret’s design was selected from 110 submissions. It depicts a diverse group of worshippers at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on Christ’s disciples, and incorporates elements of Viollet-le-Duc’s original geometry in the backgrounds. Supporters of the project argue that Notre-Dame has always evolved through successive interventions, rather than existing as a fixed historical image.
Philippe Jost, who has overseen the cathedral’s restoration since the fire, has said the goal is to bring “meaning” and “beauty” to this part of the building while maintaining “coherence” alongside a nearby figurative window depicting the Tree of Jesse. Bernard Blistène, the former director of the Centre Pompidou who led the selection committee, said Tabouret and Atelier Simon Marq are working in Reims and expect to complete the windows by the end of 2026.
For Notre-Dame, the question is no longer only how to restore what was lost in 2019. It is also how much contemporary art a UNESCO World Heritage Site can absorb before preservation itself becomes the central subject of the work.
