The News
Nôtre Dame Cathedral in Paris revealed its new interior on Friday after five years of reconstruction following a devastating 2019 fire.
A live broadcast showed the cathedral had been reconstructed to its original state, with the holes left by the blaze filled by new stonework. Huge roof timbers now substitute the medieval framework.
“It is sublime,” said French President Emmanuel Macron upon entering the cathedral.
The $740 million refurbishment, which involved the input of around 2,000 experts, received so much promotion that it gave the French craft sector a boost, the BBC reported. “[It] has been the equivalent of a World Fair, in the way it has been a showcase for our craftsmanship. It is a superb shop-window internationally,” the director of an association focused on traditional building skills told the outlet.
Macron is set to deliver a speech and attend the consecration of a new altar on the weekend of Dec. 7-8, ahead of the cathedral’s public reopening, The Associated Press reported.