Go back to the e-newsletter

The restoration of Notre-Dame cathedral is nearing completion, with the Paris landmark to throw open its doors to the public once again on 8 December – the first time since it was ravaged by fire in April 2019.

A first look at the new interior was shown to the world on Friday, when President Emmanuel Macron inspected it during a live television broadcast.

“You have achieved what was thought impossible,” Macron said to workers and officials after he toured the cathedral. “The blaze at Notre-Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment.”

He described the cathedral’s reopening will a “shock of hope”.

Where once dark and sombre, it now has a brighter, lighter look and feel. Among its new features are bronze liturgical furniture pieces by the fonderie d’art Barthélémy Art in the Drôme, with gold sacred vases by l’Atelier d’orfèvrerie Marischael. The 1,500 chairs have been made of solid oak from Sologne while the crown of thorns is installed at the centre of a new four-metre-high cedar wood reliquary.

Steps have also been taken to make it easier for the cathedral to welcome people, with a completely redesigned visitor route. The Paris je t’aime tourist office also confirmed a free online ticketing service and a mobile application would be launched in the northern hemisphere autumn.

The work involved around 250 companies and hundreds of experts, with the bill totalling nearly €700 million which was financed by the €846 million in donations from 150 countries.

At the time of the inferno, when the spire and roof of Notre-Dame were destroyed, Macron had vowed to swiftly see it restored. “We will rebuild the cathedral to be even more beautiful, and I want it to be completed within five years,” he said.

While authorities say this goal has been met, some critics see it as only half finished. For, although the interior will be ready to welcome visitors on 8 December, scaffolding will remain at the base of the cathedrals restored spire into 2025, and at its east side for a further three years.

Go back to the e-newsletter