Famed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris reopens to great fanfare

By :  AP
Update: 2024-12-08 02:30 GMT
Spectators gather outside France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris for it's formal reopening for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
PARIS: Notre Dame is reopening its doors for the first time since a fire in 2019 nearly destroyed Paris' beloved 12th-century cathedral.

World leaders — including President-elect Donald Trump , America’s first lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — gathered Saturday among some 1,500 guests to celebrate the restoration of the landmark widely considered to be a pinnacle of French architectural heritage.

Saturday's events started with Archbishop Laurent Ulrich symbolically reopening Notre Dame’s grand wooden doors with three resounding knocks.

Following the 2019 fire, nearly $1 billion in donations poured in from around the world, a tribute to its worldwide appeal.


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