US President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Paris on Saturday to join other world leaders at the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral in the French capital, noting its surprisingly rapid recovery half a decade after the devastating fire, reports UNN with reference to AFP.
President Emmanuel Macaron cites Notre Dame as an example of French creativity and resilience, but its revival so soon after the 2019 fire that destroyed its roof and spire comes at a difficult time for the country.
The media notes that Macron has achieved great success by attracting Trump to the rediscovery, on his first foreign trip after the election.
The president-elect is due to hold talks with Macron and possibly also meet with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, one of dozens of other world leaders arriving in Paris that day.
But the sense of national achievement in restoring Paris' beloved symbol has been undermined by political upheaval that has left France without a proper government and in a budget crisis.
According to media reports, Macron hopes that the first full-fledged service inside Notre Dame and the presence of about 40 world leaders in Paris can evoke a fleeting sense of pride and unity — as it was at the Paris Olympics in July and August.
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The rediscovery "is proof that we can do great things, we can do the impossible, and the whole world has admired us for it twice this year," Macron said in his televised address on Thursday, referring to the widely praised Olympics.
However, during a visit with television cameras last week, he somewhat dispelled the intrigue behind the reopening by showing the freshly cleaned limestone walls of the cathedral, new furniture and a vaulted wooden roof carved from ancient oaks selected from the best forests of France.
The renovation cost about 700 million euros ($750 million), funded by donations, and the reopening took place within five years, despite forecasts that it could take decades.
The workers had to overcome problems related to lead pollution, the COVID-19 epidemic and the death of the general in charge of the project during a hiking trip in the Pyrenees last year.