As its first legal challenge waits under appeal, a French heritage defense association recently announced it is filing a new lawsuit challenging the authorization of replacing 19th-century stained glass windows that were not damaged in the 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral with a French artist’s contemporary design.
According to a May 4 report by InfoVaticana, the Sites et Monuments Association announced the suit aiming to protect the historic stained-glass windows, which were cleaned and restored after they stayed intact following the fire and are “considered essential to the current configuration of Notre Dame.” They were designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
The Paris Administrative Court in November 2025 dismissed the association’s claim that the organization tasked with reconstructing Notre Dame is responsible for preserving and restoring the cathedral, rather than replacing “undamaged heritage elements,” InfoVaticana reported. The association has appealed that dismissal and also added a new effort to challenge the replacement by arguing directly against the authorization of replacement.
The new windows were designed by Claire Tabouret, who was commissioned with a design to honor the cathedral’s restoration, according to a Dec. 15, 2025, article by Smithsonian Magazine. Her design, which depicts Pentecost and the tongues of fire, won a competition held by the French Ministry of Culture for the project.
The French Ministry of Culture’s announcement to replace the windows garnered opposition from more than 300,000 people who signed a petition, according to the article. France’s National Heritage Commission argued that the update “conflicts with international heritage guidelines,” the magazine reported.
Tabouret has spoken with several publications about her perspective on the replacement. According to the magazine, she told the Art Newspaper that she aimed to honor Viollet-le-Duc by directly referencing his work in each of her windows through the designs’ ornamentation.
She has also noted the cathedral has previously undergone changes, telling The New York Times in February 2025 that transformation and reuse “is part of the history” of Notre Dame.
“Each renovation does modify what was before,” she said. “So it would be kind of weird to freeze it in time.”
According to InfoVaticana, the administrative justice system must now decide whether the removal of the 19th-century windows “complies with the legal framework for the protection of French historical heritage.” The outlet reports, however, that even if the decision is that the change does comply, the Sites et Monuments Association has said that it will continue calling for the replacement’s reversal.