Notre-Dame ready to welcome the "whole world" again from December 8

"We are very eager to welcome the whole world back under the cathedral's vaults," declared the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, during a press conference in Paris on Wednesday, assuring that "15 million visitors" are expected "each year" in the building.

"It is now time to rediscover Notre-Dame," added its rector Olivier Ribadeau Dumas.

The reopening of the cathedral will mark the culmination of a titanic restoration project, launched after the fire of April 15, 2019, which notably ravaged the roof and the framework of this masterpiece of XNUMXth century Gothic art, which is one of the most visited monuments in Europe.

Broadcast worldwide, the fire, the causes of which have still not been determined, has sparked a wave of global emotion.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the bold step of rebuilding the cathedral in five years, will speak on the forecourt of Notre-Dame on December 7, the first day of festivities that will include a major concert whose headliners have not been revealed.

The list of foreign heads of state expected has not been made public either.

Asked about the absence of Pope Francis at the reopening of Notre-Dame, Archbishop Ulrich said he understood the decision. "He thinks he has more need to be elsewhere," said the archbishop, who nevertheless said he hoped to receive a "message" from the pontiff.

According to Mr. Macron's entourage, the five-year reconstruction is "a French success for which all French people are called to rejoice", "in the continuity of the success that was the Olympic Games" of the summer of 2024, going against the speeches "on French decline".

"Ordinary life will resume"

Financed exclusively by donations, "the project of the century" will have cost some 700 million euros and mobilized around 2000 professionals, including many craftsmen.

According to the Elysée, the French head of state, who will make a final visit to the construction site on November 29, will also attend the first mass celebrated at Notre-Dame since the fire on Sunday, December 8, the starting point for a series of religious celebrations.

This mass will be accompanied by a "fraternal buffet" bringing together the "most deprived and those who support them on a daily basis within the charitable organizations of the diocese of Paris," said Mgr Ribadeau Dumas.

From December 8, the public will also be able to once again explore the cathedral, whose framework has been rebuilt identically and whose walls have been completely cleaned.

During the first week of reopening, the building will even be accessible "until 22 p.m.," said Mgr Ribadeau-Dumas, adding that "on December 16, ordinary life will resume."

To manage the flow of visitors, an online booking system will be set up the day before, the day before or the day of the visit and a mobile application will be used to guide the public. The capacity is between 1.900 and 3.000 people in the cathedral, according to the manager.

The religious authorities took the opportunity to once again reject the proposal by Culture Minister Rachida Dati to charge entry fees for visitors from outside the European Union.

"We maintain unchanged our position which is that, and recalled several times, of the Church (...) in France on the necessary free access to churches and cathedrals. And recalled that this principle does not contradict the concern to safeguard religious heritage", declared Mgr Ulrich.