San Francisco Frontiers - Notre Dame reopens five years after shocking blaze

Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by President Emmanuel Macron, Notre Dame's renaissance so soon after a 2019 blaze that destroyed its roof and spire comes at a difficult time for the country.

The sense of national accomplishment in restoring a beloved symbol of Paris has been undercut by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government and in a budget crisis.

Macron is hoping that the first full service inside Notre Dame and the sight of around 40 world leaders in Paris might provide a fleeting sense of pride and unity -- as the Paris Olympics did in July and August.

The re-opening "is the proof that we know how to do grand things, we know how to do the impossible and the whole world has admired us for it on two occasions this year," Macron said during a televised address on Thursday, referring to the widely praised Olympics.

During a visit with TV cameras last week however, he somewhat undermined the suspense behind the reopening, revealing the cathedral's freshly scrubbed limestone walls, new furniture and vaulted wooden roof cut from ancient oak trees selected from the finest forests of France.

The reconstruction effort has cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within five years despite predictions it could take decades.

Workers had to overcome problems with lead pollution, the Covid-19 epidemic, and the general overseeing the project falling to his death while hiking in the Pyrenees last year.

- Trump show? -

While the reborn 12th-century architectural masterpiece will be the main focus of public attention on Saturday, TV cameras are also likely to linger on Trump who will be making his first overseas trip since winning re-election to the White House last month.

He accepted an invitation from Macron to attend earlier this week, saying the French leader had done "a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so."

US President Joe Biden will be represented by his wife Jill, while Britain's Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be present.

Zelensky is expected to seek his first face-to-face meeting with Trump who has vowed to force a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, possibly by withholding US weapon supplies.

One surprising absentee will be Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, who has decided against breaking off from a weekend trip to the French island of Corsica.

A message from Francis addressed to the French people will be read out to the congregation of VIPs, church figures and selected members of the public when the service begins on Saturday evening.

- 'Universal sadness' -

Parisians watched in horror in 2019 as flames ravaged Notre Dame, a landmark famed as the setting for Victor Hugo's novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and one of the world's most visited monuments.

The apocalyptic images were even seen by some as a sign of the demise of Western civilisation, with the 850-year-old wonder saved from complete collapse only by the heroic intervention of firefighters.

The exact cause of the blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason.

"We felt a sense of universal sadness when Notre Dame burned," said fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who has dreamed up colourful new priestly vestments that will be worn by senior clergy on Saturday.

"It was a moment of terrible emotions, like a premonition of our world in difficulty," he told AFP recently.

The service will feature prayer, organ music and hymns from the cathedral's choir, followed by a televised concert with performances by Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang, South African opera singer Pretty Yende and possibly US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams.

Harsh weather forced officials to move Macron's planned speech indoors and pre-record the concert Friday night, with forecasts for winds of up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour as Storm Darragh put parts of France on red alert.

On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10:30am (0930 GMT) followed by a second service in the evening at 6:30pm which will be open to the public.

M.Gonzalez--SFF