Hurried, impatient, a bit of a grouch: Parisians haven't changed in centuries. If today we hear them chanting "We're not going to wait a hundred and seven years!"to express their annoyance, this phrase has its roots in an episode as historic as it is dusty: the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Flashback to 1163: the first stone is laid, and the cathedral begins to rise... slowly. Very slowly, in fact. It would take almost two centuries for the edifice to reach its splendor, a marathon fraught with pitfalls: architectural challenges, political conflicts, financial problems, changing site managers... However, the 107 years at the heart of the expression refer to the main phases of work completed in 1270, already leaving the inhabitants at the end of their tether.
Faced with decades of hammer blows and dust, the lament of Parisians, fed up with the interminable construction site, gave rise to this pungent phrase: "We're not going to wait 107 years!", a collective cry from the heart that has become emblematic ofFrench impatience.
So the Parisians waited. For a long time. But let's face it, the splendor of Notre-Dame is well worth a few centuries of patience... even for those in a hurry!
