French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reopened Notre Dame's iconic towers in Paris for public visits, one of the final steps in the immense reconstruction following a devastating fire,
CBS News reports.
The inauguration of the restored towers by Macron, who has spearheaded reconstruction efforts since the fire on April 15, 2019, comes a day before the opening weekend, when the public can finally climb the 424 stairs to enjoy unmatched views of Paris.
Nearly 30,000 visitors a day have streamed through the doors of the cathedral since its reopening in December 2024, to see for themselves the remarkable rebirth of the great Gothic church. Macron hosted world leaders and luminaries, among them Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Britain's Prince William and then President-elect Trump at the reopening.
The landmark reconstruction of Notre Dame to its former glory marks a major success for Macron, who is politically embattled at home. He can boast of fulfilling a promise made in the wake of the fire for the restoration to be finished within half a decade.
