The Paris administrative court has just dismissed today, May 19, 2026, the Sites & Monuments and SOS Paris associations of their requests aimed at obtaining the suspension of the decision of the Paris prefect who had authorized the removal of the stained glass windows by Alfred Gérente (1821-1868) and the installation of six new contemporary stained glass windows designed by Claire Tabouret.
The wish of the President of the Republic and the Church to carry out a contemporary gesture in Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral had aroused the ire of heritage defenders. The latter, having been unable to obtain the cancellation of the public contract, by a judgment of November 27, 2025, had applied to the judge for summary proceedings in order to obtain the suspension of the work decision on the grounds that there was serious doubt as to its legality.
However, the summary judge recalls that, unlike a classic situation “it is different from the request for suspension of a planning authorization for which, given the difficult reversible nature of the construction of a building, the emergency condition must in principle be noted when the work is about to start or has already started without being completed”.
Also these conditions were not met since “the new contemporary stained glass windows (…) are made up of panels of the same format as the panels constituting the glass roofs which will be removed in June 2026 and are designed to fit into the stone frame and the existing locksmithing of the building” and that “the contested work authorization, which provides for the presentation to the public of the six stained glass windows deposited, at the end of their restoration, presents the guarantees likely to prevent the disappearance or deterioration of these stained glass windows before the intervention of a judgment on the merits”. The reversible nature of the operation precluding any emergency, the summary judge could only dismiss the associations.
The fight is not over, however, since the judge will have to rule on the merits of the case. Whatever the outcome of this next episode, this dispute over the stained glass windows will make it possible to establish the law applicable to contemporary creations in heritage places.
