France’s Macron tours Notre Dame Cathedral reconstruction

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron toured the reconstruction work at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Friday, cheering on workers painstakingly restoring the medieval monument four years after it suffered a devastating fire.

With light streaming through the cathedral’s stained-glass rose windows, Macron and his wife, Brigitte, gazed up at activity underway to replace the roof and spire, which were consumed by the flames on April 15, 2019.

<p>French President Emmanuel Macron, front center, views restoration work Friday with, from left, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, French army General Jean-Louis Georgelin and chief architect Philippe Villeneuve at the fire-damaged Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris.</p>

Sarah Meyssonnier, Pool via AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, front center, views restoration work Friday with, from left, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, French army General Jean-Louis Georgelin and chief architect Philippe Villeneuve at the fire-damaged Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris.

Outside, Macron stepped carefully along scaffolding and shouted to workers, “Good luck, and don’t give up in the months ahead!”

He has taken a personal interest in the reconstruction, creating a government agency to oversee the works and pushing for the cathedral to reopen to visitors and the faithful next year. While it won’t be ready in time for the Paris Olympics in July-August 2024, it is currently slated to open in time for Christmas next year.

<p>Restorers work amid scaffolding Friday inside the nave of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was damaged by a fire four years ago, in Paris.</p>

Sarah Meyssonnier, Pool via AP

Restorers work amid scaffolding Friday inside the nave of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was damaged by a fire four years ago, in Paris.

Authorities chose to rebuild the 12th-century monument, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the way it was before the fire. That includes recreating the 315-feet-tall spire added in the 19th century by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

The base of the spire is being installed and is scheduled to be in place on Saturday, the fourth anniversary of the fire. The spire itself will be built in stages over the coming months, according to a statement Friday from the state agency overseeing the reconstruction.

<p>Restorers work Friday inside the nave of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was damaged by a fire four years ago, in Paris.</p>

Sarah Meyssonnier, Pool via AP

Restorers work Friday inside the nave of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was damaged by a fire four years ago, in Paris.

Work is also underway to piece back together the cathedral’s 18th-century organ, which was removed and cleaned after sustaining damage in the fire, and to clean the cathedral’s 452,084 square feet of walls, the agency said.

The reconstruction itself started last year, after more than two years of work to make the monument stable and secure enough for artisans to start rebuilding it.

Categories: World News