00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30We are 80 metres high, so it has to get up here.
00:34Hence the helicopter.
00:35We have no other option.
00:38Over the next few months, these supply halls are going to be more frequent
00:42because Mont-Saint-Michel is deteriorating.
00:45The abbey has survived wars, fires and storms.
00:48But behind this picturesque site, that draws 3 million visitors annually,
00:53lies another reality.
00:55Its walls are crumbling.
00:57Restorations are desperately needed.
01:00As the curator shows us, on this magnificent lace staircase.
01:06Due to the erosion, the joints are gradually deteriorating,
01:11creating a crack in the stone and masonry that water can penetrate.
01:15So eventually, it could fall.
01:18This part of the church is closed off to the public.
01:21We're on the upper terrace.
01:23The pinnacles, gargoyles and flying buttresses are being eaten away by moss, further weakening them.
01:31They all need to be brushed and cleaned.
01:34Many cracks have also began to appear in the floor, and there are plants to cover them with lead.
01:40The result of water seepage can be seen inside the church, where the walls have started to turn green.
01:46It's a combination of moss and algae that retain water, which circulates through its stems.
01:54Now, it might fall if we don't fix it.
01:56There are also potential hazards on the outside.
02:01Some stones threaten to fall.
02:03These steeplejacks were called in for urgent repairs.
02:06Can you send down the shackle, please?
02:08All good?
02:09Yep.
02:10They'll put up netting to secure the rocks until further structural work is done.
02:14We're going to set up an access point to be ready for some masonry work later.
02:23All of this restoration work will be financed by the state.
02:29Around 50 million euros over 10 years.
02:32But on the other hand, you can see that the pace needs to pick up,
02:35because the damage to the monument is getting worse.
02:38This little-known chapel, situated at the foot of the mont,
02:44will be repaired thanks to a fundraising effort.
02:48Private donors have come together to replace the stained glass windows,
02:52clean the walls, and restore its statue.
02:57You see, you have the statue of Saint-Aubert, who is the bishop of Avranches,
03:00who had the vision to create Mont-Saint-Michel.
03:02It will be completely cleaned and regain its splendor.
03:05The interior will also get renovated.
03:08In total, 100,000 euros will be raised,
03:11of which 70,000 has already been pledged.
03:14Visitors are not necessarily aware that there is this chapel,
03:17and one of the aims of this restoration project
03:19is to shine a spotlight on this chapel.
03:22The first round of works restored the splendor of this part of the abbey,
03:26known as La Marveille.
03:28It's been returned to its former glory,
03:30with a newly rebuilt bell tower
03:32and its spire of the Archangel Saint Michael,
03:36regilded in 2016,
03:38standing tall against the passage of time.
03:41of the Archangel Saint Michael,
03:44that I am the first place.
03:46Thank you.
03:46It's been an early,
03:48a long time in the fall of the Archangel Saint Michael,
03:48where I am the first place to go.
03:50I think that I can defeat them.
03:51I was very keen to defeat them.
03:53I don't want to do it.
03:53One of my first place is to do it.
03:54I don't want to go up to the church.
03:55It's been an old school in the country,
03:57that I'll be right back to the church.
03:59I don't want to get by.
04:00Because I really want to go up to the church,
04:01I want to get by.
04:02The church is going to get by.
04:04It's been an old school in the old school,
04:05in the early future.
04:06But I want to take that home.
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