Roofs of Paris: UNESCO classifies the skills of roofers and zinc workers

Taking their name from zinc, the grey metal which covers nearly 80% of Parisian roofs, the zinc roofers (installation and restoration) have, along with the ornamentalists (decoration), also contributed to the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

"I have always seen this application as the promotion of a heritage that is projected into the future," rejoices Delphine Bürkli, mayor of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, "moved and proud" to see the culmination of this application that she initiated ten years earlier, in 2014.

"Paris without its roofs is Paris without its Eiffel Tower," sums up the Parisian elected official.

Selected by the Ministry of Culture at the end of 2022 and presented to UNESCO as France's choice in March 2023, the application is one of 67 files studied this week by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which has been meeting since Monday in Asuncion, Paraguay.

"Gesture recognition"

The application, initially intended to classify Parisian roofs and its professions as UNESCO world heritage, a complex procedure, was finally submitted in 2017 to have these two professions recognized as French intangible cultural heritage, then by UNESCO.

"What we wanted first of all was to make the gesture known, to make known this profession which is passed down from generation to generation," explains Mériadec Aulanier, general delegate of the Syndicate of HVAC and Roofing Plumbing Companies, who deplores the "image deficit" from which the profession suffers.

"The problem with this job is that it's on the roofs, so it's not well-known because you don't see them on the street," sums up the project leader.

He now hopes to attract young talent through this registration, while the profession, which currently has between 5.000 and 6.000 roofers in Paris, has been short of workers for years.

"By increasing the visibility of the profession, the inclusion of this expertise will contribute to strengthening its attractiveness," responded the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati in a press release, stressing that there is a shortage of "more than 500 roofers and zinc workers to meet the needs of repairing Paris' roofs in accordance with the rules of the art."

"They are proud to say that their profession will be internationally recognised," rejoices Gilles Mermet, photographer ambassador of the rooftops of Paris and coordinator of the UNESCO application.

"Haute-couture"

This know-how, born in the 19th century during the redesign of Paris by the prefect Haussmann, who generalized the installation of slate and zinc roofs (two materials that became less expensive thanks to the industrial revolution), must today adapt to the thermal renovation of buildings.

"Roofs are at the forefront of climate change, because their adaptation is in conflict with aesthetics and heritage," summarizes Alexandre Florentin, advisor to the environmental group at Paris City Hall and president of the study "Paris at 50°C" published in 2023.

In particular, the albedo effect of roofs is called into question (the lighter the roofs, the more they reflect sunlight, limiting the absorption of heat), while just over half of Parisian roofs have a light albedo, according to a report from the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop (Apur) in 2022.

During summer heatwaves, the rooms located under the roofs, formerly reserved for maids, become real "thermal kettles", explains the environmentalist.

"The roofer is the first to feel the effects of climate change," points out Mériadec Aulanier, specifying that the profession, comparable to "haute couture", "has always known how to adapt."

Among the many solutions currently being implemented to lower temperatures, roof insulation, the installation of exterior blinds and terraces or the installation of vegetation or light-coloured coverings on roofs.

"This profession is truly haute couture," confirms Alexandre Florentin. "But at 45°C, you have to change the fabrics," analyses the man who is now calling for the creation of a general assembly on heritage and adaptation.

"All the challenges are ahead of us," sums up Delphine Bürkli, for whom the recognition of these professions by UNESCO is above all that of the Parisian "urban canopy".