Notre Dame re-opens five years after fire

Notre Dame cathedral reopens after restoration post-fire, with VIPs, new features, and a sense of national pride.

The archbishop of Paris re-opened Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday (December 7, 2024) by symbolically knocking on the doors and entering the 12th-century landmark which has been restored after a devastating fire in 2019.

Wearing new designer vestments and carrying a staff cut from one of the roof beams that survived the inferno, Laurent Ulrich joined hundreds of VIPs inside the Gothic masterpiece for a two-hour ceremony.

Ulrich commanded the cathedral to "open your doors" and he entered the magnificently-restored edifice.

US President-elect Donald Trump sat on the front row as guest of honour next to French President Emmanuel Macron, with invitees marvelling at the freshly cleaned walls, new furniture and state-of-the-art lightening installed as part of the cathedral's overhaul.

Outside, small crowds of Parisians and tourists braved wet weather and high winds to witness the renaissance of a beloved monument which came close to being totally destroyed by the inferno that toppled its roof and spire.

"I find it really beautiful, even more so now that the spire has been restored," Marie Jean, a 27-year-old dentist from southwest France, told AFP outside.

The reconstruction effort has cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within a five-year deadline set by Macron despite predictions it could take decades.