The Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019’s devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes. Although the Cathedral will reopen on 7 December, the process has been far from smooth. Take a look at some of the twists and turns along the way.
Images of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral - one of France's most emblematic cultural sites - up in flames back in 2019, sent shockwaves across the nation. French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to was met with scepticism by industry experts. But now, that moment is soon to become a reality.
On 7 December, around 2,000 people will attend the monument's reopening, alongside the French President, who stated in an interview with French broadcast France 2 that he to the event. Nevertheless, the process leading up to this reopening has had its hiccups. General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who was given the immense task of overseeing the Cathedral's renovations, died in a mountain accident in August 2023.
The former French Army general and Chief of the Defence Staff was not one to mince his words. At the end of 2019, during a hearing held before the National Assembly's Cultural Affairs Committee, he was asked about the reconstruction of Notre Dame's spire which was destroyed in the fire. Georgelin - who had been bickering with the project's chief architect, Philippe Villeneuve - referred to Villeneuve by saying: "Let him shut his mouth and we'll move forward with wisdom!".
When French President E.