Restored Notre Dame unveiled with grand tour led by Macron

PARIS – Notre Dame’s stone vaults, its checkered floor and its golden altar cross were gleaming. As the world got a first look inside the restored cathedral since the 2019 fire that gutted it, Friday’s tour guide was President Emmanuel Macron.

The French leader led a televised walk through the site of a herculean restoration effort on his final visit before the Parisian landmark officially reopens Dec. 7.

Even as political turmoil threatens to topple the French government, and even with the country’s finances in shambles, the moment was a triumph of sorts for Macron. In April 2019 – after the fire that toppled the spire, consumed the roof and covered everything that survived with debris – Macron pledged, to much incredulity, that the cathedral would be rebuilt in five years, and that it would be “even more beautiful.”

The cathedral has been faithfully, painstakingly recreated, using traditional techniques. But the brightness of the interior is striking. It has been scrubbed not just of soot and lead dust from the fire but of grime built up over the centuries.

Macron entered the nave on a tour he described as a rediscovery of Notre Dame and a closing chapter that would make the country proud. Smiling and reverent, Macron was accompanied by small group that included first lady Brigitte Macron, the archbishop of Paris and Philippe Jost, the head of the reconstruction task force.

“I believe you are seeing the cathedral like it has never been seen before,” Jost said.

They paused for a moment in front of a statue of Mary and Jesus that had survived the fire. The origin of the blaze remains a mystery. Authorities say it probably started by accident; the investigation is ongoing.

On the tour, craftsmen involved in the restoration described their work, pointing out the old and the new.

The visit celebrated the 2,000 workers and artisans – stonecutters and carpenters, sculptors and engineers – who helped piece Notre Dame back together. Hundreds of them returned Friday as Macron praised the skill and grit it took to resurrect a monument that has stood at the city’s cultural and geographical center for more than eight centuries.

“This metamorphosis, we owe it to you,” Macron told the workers gathered around him in the nave. “You have all had a role, placed a stone, accomplished a task without which the totality of what has been done would have been impossible.”

The nearly two-hour tour included a stop to marvel at one of the operation’s most challenging feats: reconstruction of “the forest,” a dense maze of wooden trusses in the cathedral’s attic. Working with specialized axes, and 2,000 oak trees, carpenters had to hew beams by hand to re-create the roughly 300-foot-long structure.

“It’s incredible,” Macron said, touching a wooden beam.

Gauthier Tonini, who worked on the roof’s waterproofing, recalled watching the cathedral burn when he was an apprentice. He hoped to one day tell his children about the part he played in Notre Dame.

“I will tell them I had very good moments with great colleagues, that we laughed together,” he said. “Even though there were some difficult moments, we were united to finish this cathedral.”

The blaze destroyed some of the cathedral’s vaults, but the stained-glass windows survived, as did most of the statues, the bell towers that stand astride the grand entry and the crown of thorns relic believed to have been worn by Jesus.

All of that has now been decontaminated and dusted. The Grand Organ, with its 8,000 pipes, was dismantled and repaired. Workers restored vaults to their original design and carved some new limestone gargoyles. Murals were spruced up from the wear and tear of the centuries.

The eight bells of the north tower were restored and reinstalled. The cathedral’s bells rang together through the city in November for the first time since the fire. And a new golden rooster now sits atop the iconic spire.

The restoration relied on money that poured in from 340,000 donors – nearly 850 million euros (almost $900 million), according to the Élysée presidential palace – including from corporations such as Total and French billionaires such as the Arnault family, of the LVMH luxury goods empire.

When Notre Dame officially reopens on Dec. 7, the archbishop of Paris will strike the doors with his crosier. A ceremony that day will be attended by Catholic dignitaries, foreign officials and donors. Notre Dame will then hold a Mass to consecrate the altar the following day. Services will later be held for firefighters and workers who saved the cathedral.

Notre Dame, Paris’ most visited landmark before the fire, is expecting up to 15 million visitors a year after it reopens.

Macron had originally pushed for a reopening before the Summer Olympics. But the restoration was set back by the pandemic and other delays.

Some exterior work is set to continue over the next few years.

The cathedral’s original construction lasted nearly two centuries. Its first stone was laid in 1163, but it wasn’t until 1345 that the project was considered mostly complete.

“I was really moved to see this marble which already had a long history,” said Olivia Salaün, a restorer who worked on the marble flooring. “It was absolutely thrilling.”