No, Masonic symbols were not added to Notre-Dame during its restoration

THE WERE ALREADY THERE 

Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral will soon reopen its doors to the public, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed it. Ahead of the opening, a number of social media accounts with links to the far right or to Russia began posting claims on November 29 that satanic and Masonic symbols were secretly added to the cathedral during the renovations. However, the features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of the originals.


Issued on: 05/12/2024 - 
FRANCE24/OBSERVERS

Social media users with links to Russia or the far right have been claiming since November 29, 2024 that Masonic and satanic symbols were added to Notre-Dame Cathedral during its renovations. But the architectural features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of originals. © X

By:Quang Pham

"Notre-Dame or the triumph of Freemasonry!” reads one of the many posts that have been circulating widely on X in recent days. In short, a number of accounts with ties to Russia or the far right have been claiming that satanic and Masonic symbols were added to Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral during the five years of restoration work that followed a devastating fire.

These posts have garnered nearly two million views on X in the lead-up to the cathedral reopening its doors on December 7. However, there is no basis to these claims, according to Alexandre Gady, an art historian and expert in French cultural heritage.

Here’s a look at the most viral fake news stories about secret symbols being added to the cathedral.

Was the floor of Notre-Dame replaced by a Masonic checkerboard?

One social media user – who has shared conspiracy theories in the past – claimed that Notre-Dame’s original flooring had been replaced by a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, which, in their opinion, proved Masonic involvement in the renovations.

The term Freemason (in French, "franc-maçons") refers to a series of fraternal orders that began centuries ago. There are persistent suspicions and many conspiracy theories that Freemasons exert powerful, hidden influence on society.

To illustrate their claims, this social media user shared a screenshot of footage recorded by French media outlet LCI during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the cathedral on November 29.
This social media user claimed that the flooring of Notre-Dame Cathedral has been replaced by a checkerboard pattern common in Masonic lodges. In fact, this flooring is the same as the original. © X © X

Many Masonic lodges do feature checkered tile flooring, known as “mosaic pavement”. This pattern has special moral significance for the community, with black and white representing good and evil. However, Notre-Dame’s floor wasn’t replaced with new Masonic tiling. Instead, the floor was restored to its original appearance.

"The [black and white] pattern on the floor tiles in the nave are from 1769–1774, during the reign of King Louis XV,” says Gady. This flooring was placed “at the clergy’s request”, Gady says, during work carried out by Jacques-Germain Soufflot, the cathedral’s chief architect.

As shown in this photo of the cathedral taken after the fire in 2019 and before its restoration, the black and white tiling was already present before the renovation.

At left is a photo of Notre-Dame after the fire in 2019. The flooring pattern is visible. At right is a photo of the renovated cathedral from 2024. Our team added the red outline. © Alexis Lamenda, compte YouTube de l'Élysée

You can see more about the restoration work carried on the liturgical platform, where the altar is located, on the website of the stone-cutting company who carried out the renovations.
Is a painting on one of Notre-Dame’s vaults actually a Masonic symbol?

The starry blue background of a painting on the cathedral is actually a “symbol of [Masonic] lodges” – or so says pro-Russian influencer Camille Moscow. Their post features a video of the oculus, a circular form located at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults that is painted with an image of a starry blue background and a figure on it.

Social media user Camille Moscow claims that the starry painting at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults is a symbol of Freemasonry. It is actually a common symbol in Parisian religious structures. © X

In reality, the figure on the oculus isn’t a Masonic symbol at all, it is a Virgin Mary and her child surrounded by cherubs. The image was painted around 1728-1729. This photo of the vault taken before the fire proves that the oculus wasn’t added during renovations.

"The starry sky is a common symbol and decoration,” Gady added. “We see it in a number of religious buildings in Paris.”

For example, the same starry sky appears on the vaults of Sainte-Chapelle as well as the church in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris's 6th arrondissement.