France’s Notre Dame Cathedral reopened today after five years.

Five years after it was destroyed by fire, France’s iconic Notre Dame cathedral will officially reopen on Saturday, with US President-elect Donald Trump celebrating its extraordinarily swift recovery amid world leaders. .

In an example of French creativity and resilience under President Emmanuel Macron, Notre-Dame’s Renaissance comes at a difficult time for the country shortly after the 2019 fire that destroyed its roof and spire.

A sense of national achievement in restoring Paris’ beloved symbol has been tempered by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government and in a budget crisis.

President Macron is hoping the first full service inside Notre-Dame and the sight of some 40 world leaders in Paris will provide a momentary sense of pride and unity — as did the Paris Olympics in July and August.

“The reopening is proof that we know how to do great things, we know how to do the impossible and that the whole world has praised us on two occasions this year,” President Macron said during a televised address on Thursday. Referring to the widely acclaimed Olympics.

During a tour with TV cameras last week, however, he somewhat undermined the suspense behind the reopening, which will feature the cathedral’s freshly scrubbed limestone walls, new furniture and the best of France. The timber roof was revealed to be cut from ancient oak trees selected from the forests.

Reconstruction efforts have cost around €700 million ($750 million), financed by donations, despite predictions that it could take decades, with reopening within five years. .

Workers have had to overcome lead contamination, the Covid-19 epidemic, and the general overseeing the project who fell to his death last year while hiking in the Pyrenees.

Trump in attendance

While the 12th-century architectural masterpiece will be the center of public attention on Saturday, TV cameras are also likely to focus on President-elect Trump, who is making his first foreign trip since winning re-election to the White House. will do The month

He accepted an invitation from Macron to attend earlier this week, saying the French leader had “done a wonderful job ensuring Notre-Dame is restored to its full level of glory.” has been done, and more”.

US President Joe Biden will be represented by his wife Jill, while Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also attend.

Zelenskiy is expected to have his first face-to-face meeting with Trump, who has vowed to force a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine by potentially cutting off US arms supplies.

A surprise absentee will be Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, who has decided to skip a weekend trip to the French island of Corsica.

When the service begins Saturday evening, a message from the Pope to the French people will be read to VIPs, church dignitaries and elected members of the public.

Shocking incident

Parisians watched in horror in 2019 as flames destroyed Notre-Dame, famous as the setting for Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” and one of the world’s most visited monuments. is one of

With the 850-year-old wonder saved from total destruction only by the heroic intervention of firefighters, some saw the apocalyptic images as a sign of the end of Western civilization.

The exact cause of the fire has never been identified, despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an electrical fault-like accident was the most likely cause.

“We felt a universal sadness when Notre-Dame burned,” said fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who dreamed up the colorful new priestly vestments that senior priests will wear on Saturday.

“It was a moment of terrible emotion, like our world is in trouble,” he said. AFP Recently

The service will feature prayers, organ music and hymns from the cathedral’s choir, followed by televised performances by Chinese piano virtuoso Leng Lang, South African opera singer Pretty Yende and possibly American singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams. There will be a concert.

Severe weather forced authorities to move Macron’s planned speech indoors and pre-record a concert on Friday night, with winds of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour in parts of France on red alert. Hourly winds were forecast.

On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 priests from Paris will take place at 10:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) followed by a second service at 6:30 p.m. that will be open to the public.