Macron praises those who helped rebuild Notre-Dame

President visits cathedral as it prepares to reopen next week

- TARA COBHAM

The French president Emmanuel Macron has praised the more than 1,000 craftspeople who helped with "the project of the century": rebuilding Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral after it was gutted by a devastating fire.

Five and a half years after the blaze, the Gothic masterpiece, one of the French capital’s most beloved and visited monuments, will reopen its doors to tourists and the Catholic faithful next week.

“Never before have we seen such a construction site. You all had your share in the project of the century,” Mr Macron told a gathering yesterday, which included carpenters, stonemasons, art restorers, firefighters and donors. “The burning of NotreDame was a national wound and you were its remedy, [restoring it] through determination, hard work and commitment.”

The workers, who included members of the elite Compagnons du Devoir, a centuries-old guild of artisans considered to be France’s finest, burst into joyful applause when Mr Macron concluded his address with a final “Thank you.”

The reconstruction work restored the 12th-century cathedral’s spire, its rib vaulting, flying buttresses, stained-glass windows and carved stone gargoyles to their past glory, with the white stone and gold decorations shining brighter than ever.