France’s Macron sees Notre Dame cathedral’s restoration more than 5 years after it was gutted by fire

Paris — After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019. 

French TV showed live pictures of President Emmanuel Macron visiting the iconic cathedral, which looked as worshippers might have experienced it in medieval times, with its wide, open spaces filled with bright light on a crisp, sunny winter’s day that lit up the vibrant colors of the stained-glass windows.

The flames and smoke that tore through the stone building’s roof caused immense damage, and the repairs cost more than $700 million.

But on Friday, the gaping holes torn into the vaulted ceilings and the charred piles of debris were long gone, filled in with new stonework. Delicate golden angels look on from the centerpiece of one of the rebuilt ceilings.

The cathedral’s limestone walls look brand new, cleaned not only of dust from the fire but also of grime that had accumulated for years. The cathedral attracted millions of worshippers and visitors annually before the blaze.

Powerful vacuum cleaners were used to first remove toxic dust released when the fire melted the cathedral’s lead roofs. Fine layers of latex were then sprayed onto the surfaces and removed a few days later, taking dirt away with them.

Macron entered via the cathedral’s giant and intricately carved front doors and stared up at the ceilings in wonder. He was accompanied by his wife, Brigitte, the archbishop of Paris and others.

“You have achieved what was thought impossible,” Macron told workers after his tour of the elaborate restoration. “The blaze at Notre-Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment.”

His visit kicks off a series of events ushering in the reopening of the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece. Macron will return on Dec. 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn Mass the following day.

60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker got a rare early peak at the inside the rebuilt cathedral just two weeks ago, when work was still underway, and he spoke with the man who was tasked with bringing it back to life, Philippe Jost.

“We are all very proud of what we have done together,” Jost told Whitaker.

Asked what first comes to his mind when he steps into the restored building, Jost said it was the “breathtaking” sense of light and space.

“In this monument, there is a soul,” he told 60 Minutes in an interview that will air on Sunday. “We feel it… When we enter now, we feel it.”