Notre Dame Reopens After Five-year Restoration

Notre-Dame is ready to welcome visitors once again. The cathedral, saved by firefighters, has been restored to its original state after five years. A ceremony today in the heart of Paris brought together 40 heads of state, including President-elect Trump. David Vivès reports from Paris. As promised by the French president on the night of the blaze, it has taken five years for the full restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The 860-year-old monument was very close to being destroyed by the fire in 2019, but thanks to critical decisions made by firefighters at crucial moments, restoration was made possible. Nearly $1 billion in donations poured in from around the world after the blaze. Thousands of experts, craftspeople, from carpenters and stonemasons to stained-glass window artists, worked around the clock for the last five years. The reopening ceremony was marked by songs, prayers and, oh, beneath its soaring arches. Despite the cold, the wind and a bit of rain, people have gathered outside the cathedral to follow the ceremony on their smartphone or giant screens. The event is being held under tight security with 60,000 police officers deployed around and inside the island of Notre-Dame-Île-de-la-Cité. I think it's really exciting. Yeah, I think we just happened to be here the weekend that it was opening. This looks really cool. We're hopefully going to go and try to see it tomorrow. 40 heads of state are participating in the reopening ceremony, including Donald Trump, who has been received yesterday by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the two leaders and spoke for 30 minutes before heading to the ceremony. President, it's a great honor for French people to welcome you, five years later, and you were at that time present for the first time, and I remember the solidarity and your immediate reaction. Thank you very much. Very great honor. And we had a great relationship, as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot together. And the people of France are spectacular. I guess it's one of our largest groups in the United States, French people. And we respect them and we love them. And the incoming 47th President of the United States appears to be laying the groundwork for his first steps in diplomacy with France and Europe. And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. And we'll be talking about that. The cathedral will host its first mass on Sunday. Online booking is now available for visitors who wish to see the restored landmark. David Vives, NTD News, Paris.