A week before the official reopening, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the construction site of Notre-Dame for the last time.
The shock of the reopening will be as great as that of the fire that destroyed the world-famous church, but this time it will be a shock of hope, Macron said.
The French President’s visit officially marks the end of construction work.
Five years after the fire, Macron’s visit offered the first glimpse of the restored and reconstructed cathedral before its December 7 reopening: radiant, colorful, flooded with light and modern.
After the devastating fire in April 2019, Macron called on the country to rebuild the monument.
In a televised speech he promised: “We will rebuild Notre-Dame even more beautiful. And I want it to be finished within five years. We can do it.”
Many at the time were skeptical that the restoration work on the medieval cathedral could be completed in such a short period.
However, after five years of restoration, the Parisian monument is now almost unrecognizable. Natural stone surfaces covering approximately 42,000 square meters now shine brightly after being cleaned of centuries of accumulated dirt and grime.
The cathedral was reconstructed in an identical manner, but the interior design is now contemporary.
The altar and tabernacle, where the consecrated hosts are kept, are minimalist in design and made of bronze, just like the baptismal font near the entrance to the cathedral.
The old baptismal font used to be located in a chapel on the north side.
Macron visited on Friday with his wife Brigitte and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich.
The French president stopped in front of the new reliquary to hold the Crown of Thorns, a monumental container made of yellow glass stones, which will not be placed in its new location until December 13.
During the 2019 fire, the precious crown of thorns, which arrived in Paris in 1239 and was said to have been placed on Jesus on the day of his crucifixion, was heroically rescued from the flames by the Paris fire brigade.
The construction site was organized under extraordinary circumstances, Macron said in his address to about 1,200 craftsmen, journeymen and architects on site.
The aim was to bring together the best of French know-how, and more than 2,000 men and women were involved in the restoration.
“You have made the impossible possible,” Macron said.
