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00:10It's become a common sound around this usually peaceful island.
00:15Early in the morning, Mont-Saint-Michel is awakened with helicopter noise.
00:21It's the only way to transport scaffolding to the abbey.
00:24It's flown in.
00:25It's been in and out the same way.
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00:35We have no other option.
00:38Over the next few months,
00:40these 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...
00:50a picturesque site
00:50that draws 3 million visitors annually
00:53lies another reality.
00:56Its walls are crumbling.
00:57Restorations are desperately needed.
01:00As the curator shows us
01:01on this magnificent lace staircase.
01:05Due to the erosion,
01:08the joints are gradually deteriorating.
01:10Creating a crack in the stone and masonry
01:13that water can penetrate.
01:15So eventually, it could fall.
01:18This part of the church is...
01:20closed off to the public.
01:21We're on the upper terrace.
01:24The pinnacles...
01:25gargoyles and flying buttresses
01:27are being eaten away by moss.
01:30further weakening them.
01:31They all need to be brushed and cleaned.
01:34Many...
01:35cracks have also began to appear in the floor.
01:37And there are plans to cover them with lead.
01:40The result of water seepage can be seen inside the church,
01:44where the walls...
01:45have started to turn green.
01:47It's a combination of moss and algae...
01:50that retain water...
01:51which circulates through its stems.
01:53Now...
01:55it might fall if we don't fix it.
01:58There are also potential hazards...
02:00on the outside.
02:01Some stones threaten to fall.
02:03These steeplejacks were called in for...
02:05urgent repairs.
02:06Can you send down the shackle, please?
02:08All good?
02:09Yep.
02:10They'll put up netting to secure the rocks...
02:12until further structural work is done.
02:16We're going to set up an access point...
02:18to be ready for some masonry work later.
02:20All of this restoration work...
02:25will be financed by the state.
02:29Around 15...
02:3020 million euros over 10 years.
02:32But on the other hand...
02:33you can see that the pace needs to pick up.
02:35because the damage to the monument...
02:37is getting worse.
02:40This little-known chapel...
02:41situated at the foot of the mount...
02:43will be repaired...
02:45thanks to a fundraising effort.
02:48Private donors have come together...
02:50to replace the stained glass windows...
02:52clean the walls...
02:53and restore its...
02:55the statue.
02:57You see...
02:58you have the statue of Saint-Aubert...
02:59who is the bishop...
03:00of Avranches...
03:01who had the vision...
03:02to create Mont Saint-Michel.
03:03It will be completely cleaned...
03:04and regained...
03:05splendor.
03:06The interior will also get renovated...
03:08in total...
03:09a hundred...
03:10a hundred thousand euros...
03:11will be raised...
03:12of which...
03:13seventy thousand...
03:14has already been pledged.
03:15The members are not necessarily aware...
03:16that there is this chapel...
03:17and one of the aims...
03:18of this restoration project...
03:19is to shine...
03:20a spotlight...
03:21on this chapel.
03:22The first round of works...
03:24restored the splendor...
03:25of this part of the abbey...
03:26known as...
03:27La Merveille.
03:28It's been returned...
03:29to its form...
03:30former glory...
03:31with a newly rebuilt...
03:32bell tower...
03:33and its spire...
03:34of the arc...
03:35angel St. Michael...
03:36regilded in 2016...
03:38standing tall...
03:39against...
03:40the passage of time.
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