Embattled Macron seeks boost from reopening of Notre Dame

Deeply weakened President Emmanuel Macron hopes Saturday’s formal inauguration of Notre Dame will give him a new chance at political life.

Along with US President-elect Donald Trump, Prince William and other international figures, he would like to present the renovated cathedral as a symbol of France’s inner reservoir of creative energy.

In a speech to mark the occasion, he will urge the world to look beyond the country’s current crisis and praise the determination, organization and hard work that has saved one of France’s most famous buildings in just five years.

The long-awaited event comes as France enters a period of deep uncertainty following the collapse of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government on Wednesday. A replacement has not yet been named.

Five and a half years after the devastating fire, Macron had planned to reopen the cathedral at the optimistic climax of 2024 – a year also marked by the Paris Olympic Games.

But while he seeks to capitalize on the undoubted success of the project, a contradiction is inevitable between the depressing state of the entire country and the growing achievement of recovering this magnificent Gothic cathedral.

The ceremony marks the moment the Catholic Church retakes possession of the cathedral ahead of the first mass celebrated on Sunday.

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich would knock on the front portal using a staff made from one of the salvaged roof-timbers. Answered by the choir, who would already be inside, he would enter the cathedral and let the organ say “Sing praises to the Lord”.

Macron originally intended to deliver an address inside the cathedral, but was advised it would violate France’s strict rules on secularism.

As a compromise, he visited the cathedral eight days early to thank hundreds of craftsmen and women – a televised tour that gave the world the first glimpse of the stunningly renovated interior.

The evening religious ceremony will be followed by concerts by Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Canadian singer Garou.

Sunday’s mass – which the president will attend – will be conducted by Archbishop Ulrich in the presence of 170 French bishops and priests from 106 Paris parishes. The first mass event open to the public is on Sunday evening, but booking was essential – as it is for all mass events planned for the coming week.

One dignitary who will not attend is Pope Francis, although he has sent a message that will be read on Saturday.

Papal relations with France are cordial rather than friendly. He was reportedly angry over French policies to cut immigration and Macron’s decision to include the right to abortion in the constitution.

The Pope is said to be more interested in the young and growing Christian communities of the Southern Hemisphere than in the medieval churches of Europe.

A fire on 15 April 2019 destroyed three sections of the medieval roof—timber, spire and stone vault. An appeal to donors raised €850m ($897m; £704m), and 2,000 masons, carpenters, art-restorers, engineers and architects worked on the project.

“The moment I looked inside the day after the fire, I knew everything was going to be OK. The damage was not as bad as I had feared,” said Philippe Villeneuve, the cathedral’s chief architect. , which refutes the widespread theory that Notre-Dame came close to total collapse.

“Apart from replacing the roof and spire, the main work was decontamination. Everything was covered in lead oxide powder. But it meant we could carry out repairs and cleaning – which explains why the cathedral looks so beautiful today.”

Before the fire, the cathedral was already considered to be in a state of serious disrepair, and scaffolding was put in place to renovate the spire and other rust-damaged exteriors.

About 12 million people visit the cathedral each year, a number that is now expected to increase. A new walkway around the building has been designed to cope with the expected influx of 100 visitors per minute at the peak of the tourist season.