PARIS — Five years after a fire ripped through its ornate wooden spire and roof, Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral offered the world a stunning tour of its painstaking reconstruction Friday with a visit by President Emmanuel Macron.
Today her spire stands again, and the Gothic masterpiece readies to open her doors to the public, with Macron hosting a live two-hour televised tour revealing a transformed building that’s practically synonymous with French culture and history.
“This project was a human adventure of epic proportions in terms of building and prowess, involving the patient and dedicated work of a chain of talents working with one another passing the torch to those of the centuries to come,” Macron said in an essay ahead of his visit.
Macron was joined by his wife, Brigitte, and Laurent Ulrich, the archbishop of Paris, as he made his way around the restored building. Bright winter sunshine lit up the stained-glass windows and creamy stonework gleaming in place of huge charred holes.
In the square outside, Macron was surrounded by crowds of cheering artisans, architects, business leaders and donors.
Inside, the walls are brilliant white, the murals restored to their original resplendent colors. A new altar and golden cross bring a modern touch to the medieval church. The charred oak ceiling that was punctured by the spire that crashed into it has been replaced with new wood. Fire doors and sprinklers are a modern addition.
The crown of thorns, said to be the wreath placed on Jesus Christ’s head during his crucifixion, and one of the cathedral’s most sacred items, will sit in a sparkling reliquary.
Macron was met with ridicule after the April 15, 2019, blaze when he vowed to rebuild the cathedral and see it reopened to the public by 2024. But while restoration efforts will likely continue for years, the French president has made good on his promise, with Notre Dame set to welcome the public for the first time on Dec. 7.
“It was a challenge many deemed impossible, yet one we will have met on,” Macron said. “This once-in-a-century project has been conducted in extraordinary conditions. It required a collaboration of France’s best experts and specialists.”
On the night of the fire, thousands of horrified Parisians and tourists looked on as Notre Dame’s iconic spire — known in France as “la fléche,” or arrow — lurched and crashed into the inferno. Within minutes, one of the most recognizable sights in the French capital was gone.
While part of the cathedral, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, was undamaged, nearly $1 billion in pledged donations were made within a day of the fire.
Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, the public body responsible for the conservation and restoration of the cathedral, estimated at the time that it would cost $760 million.
Work quickly began on the medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature as teams of specialist craftsmen flew in from around the world to help out.
Louise Bausiere, who spent the last two years working on the cathedral’s knave, told NBC News on Wednesday said she hoped people would admire what the team of craftspeople had done.
“To make it in five years was hard,” she said. “We had to do it, there was no choice.”
The team “took photos and looked at archives and made it exactly the same,” she said. “The techniques, the visuals, the aesthetics, everything is exactly the same.”
It was “easier today because of technology,” she added.
Macron’s visit comes at a time of political turmoil in France over Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s plans for a budget involving 60 billion euros ($62 billion) in spending cuts and tax hikes despite lacking a majority in Parliament, leading to threats to topple the government from far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
And his administration is hailing the reconstruction as a symbol of national unity and French can-do.
Since the cathedral’s first stone was laid in the 12th century, the cathedral has undergone frequent revivals.
It was also the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and his wife, Empress Joséphine, in 1804, and its huge bells rang out on Aug. 24, 1944, to celebrate the liberation of Paris from German occupiers.
The stone gargoyles and religious relics it housed drew flocks of pilgrims for centuries.
Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “Notre-Dame de Paris,” known to many as “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” not only immortalized the cathedral’s story, but inspired a major restoration of the site.
After the modern-day restoration, Macron will return on Dec. 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn Mass the following day.
