France says 'merci' as Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from ruins of fire

By Noemie Olive and Ingrid Melander

The word "Merci" was projected on to the front of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral as it reopened on Saturday, in thanks for its salvation after a devastating fire that brought the 860-year-old building close to collapse five years ago.

The cathedral's bells rang out and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, struck the doors of Notre-Dame three times with his crozier before symbolically reopening the building, as the ceremony started. First responders who helped preserve the Gothic masterpiece and some of those who subsequently restored it received a standing ovation.

"I stand before you to express the gratitude of the French nation, our gratitude to all those who saved, helped and rebuilt the cathedral," President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that with the swift renovation, France had "achieved the impossible".

"Tonight we can together share joy and pride. Long live Notre-Dame de Paris, long live the Republic and long live France."

Minutes earlier, the cathedral's bells rang out and Macron welcomed guests including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Notre-Dame has been meticulously restored, with a new spire and rib vaulting, its flying buttresses and carved stone gargoyles returned to their past glory and white stone and gold decorations shining brightly once again.

Five years ago, on the evening of April 15, 2019, dismayed Parisians rushed to the scene and TV viewers worldwide watched horrified as the fire raged through the cathedral, the spire fell and the roof collapsed.

Getting Trump to attend the opening ceremony, and organising a meeting between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the Elysee Palace before the Notre-Dame ceremony, was a coup for Macron as he faces a political crisis at home, after parliament ousted his prime minister.

Trump shook hands with Britain's Prince William and heads of state and government as he made his way to the front of the cathedral. He sat next to Macron and Macron's wife Brigitte in the front row. Jill Biden, the wife of U.S. President Joe Biden, sat on the other side of Brigitte Macron.

Earlier on Saturday, guests stood and applauded as Zelenskiy walked into the cathedral.

Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser in Trump's transition team, also attended, as did France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former French presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

France's Marseillaise national anthem rang out as the ceremony drew to a close. Macron will host Trump and heads of state and government at a dinner in the presidential Elysee Palace after the ceremony.

THOUSANDS WORKED ON RESTORATION

Thousands of experts - from carpenters and stonemasons to stained glass window artists - worked round the clock for five years, using age-old methods to restore, repair or replace everything that was destroyed or damaged.

"Notre-Dame is more than a Parisian or French monument. It's also a universal monument," said historian Damien Berne.

"It's a landmark, an emblem, a point of reference that reassures in a globalised world where everything evolves permanently," said Berne, a member of the scientific council for the restoration.

The cathedral's first stone was laid in 1163 and construction continued for much of the next century, with major restoration and additions made in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Victor Hugo helped make the cathedral a symbol of Paris and France when he used it as a setting for his 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame". Quasimodo, the main character, has been portrayed in Hollywood movies, an animated Disney adaptation and in musicals.

Some Parisians were particularly thrilled by the reopening.

"What does Notre-Dame mean to me? This. Look, it's here," said careworker Pascal Tordeux, displaying a tattoo on his arm representing the cathedral. "It means everything."

"I saw the construction every day from my window, the spire being brought down, being brought back. I saw it burn, I saw it rise again. I followed it day by day," said Tordeux, who lives across the river from Notre-Dame.

Would-be visitors can now book a free ticket online, on the Cathedral's website. But on Saturday, the first day bookings could be made for the coming days, all tickets were gone, a message on the site said.

Group visits will be allowed next year - from Feb. 1 for religious groups or from June 9 for tourists with guides. The Catholic Church expects the cathedral to welcome 15 million visitors each year.

So much money poured in for the renovation from all over the world - more than 840 million euros ($880 million), according to Macron's office - there are still funds left over for further investment in the building.

In a message read aloud during the ceremony, Pope Francis said it was a day of "joy, celebration and praise".

Weighing in a heated debate on whether visitors should pay to visit the cathedral - which some French politicians have pushed for, to help restore other churches - the pope, who was not at the ceremony himself, said in his message that he trusted all would continue to be welcomed for free.

Archbishop Ulrich will celebrate a Mass on Sunday, the first of eight days of Masses devoted to the reopening and focused on thanking, among others, donors who paid for the renovations and firefighters who helped save it. Some of the Masses, including on the evening of Dec. 8, at 6.30 p.m. (1730 GMT), will be open to the public.