China News Service, March 7th. When will Notre Dame Cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in 2019, reopen?

French officials announced good news on the 6th: the reconstruction of Notre Dame de Paris is very fast, and it is expected to reopen to tourists in December 2024.

　　According to the Associated Press, George Lin, who is in charge of the restoration and reconstruction work, said that the iconic spire of Notre Dame Cathedral, which was burned in the fire four years ago, will reappear this year.

On April 15, 2021 local time, in Paris, France, workers work on the top of Notre Dame Cathedral.

　　"To me, the fact that the spire is up again under the Parisian sky is a symbol that we have won the battle for Notre Dame," he told The Associated Press, adding that about 1,000 people are currently working on rebuilding the cathedral every day.

　　Notre Dame de Paris was destroyed by fire in 2019. The reinforcement and protection of the church will be completed in the autumn of 2021, and the restoration of the spire will begin in 2022.

　　Georgelin said the cathedral would reopen in December 2024, in line with the reopening goal set by French President Emmanuel Macron.

　　In January of this year, Macron reiterated the restoration goal when he visited Notre Dame with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

He said at the time that the cathedral planned to complete restoration and reopen in 2024.

　　However, George Lin regretted that Notre Dame could not reopen before the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024.

　　French Culture Minister Malak told the Associated Press that not all reconstruction works will be completed by the end of 2024, and "some renovation works will still be carried out in 2025".

On January 6, 2020 local time, the exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

　　Jost, director of the government agency responsible for the reconstruction, said that the reconstruction "will be faithful to the original architecture", not only insisting on restoring the original shape and appearance of the cathedral, but also insisting on using "original building materials and construction methods".

　　"We're not going to do a concrete roof that looks like stone, we're going to do a stone dome like it was built in the Middle Ages," and the roof frame will also be made of oak, like the original.

　　Meanwhile, an exhibition titled "Notre-Dame de Paris: At the Center of the Construction Site" will be open to visitors at the underground facility in front of the cathedral.

The exhibition mainly shows the process of reconstruction work and related expertise and skills, and also includes some fire remains and artworks collected by the cathedral.

　　Malak said that through the exhibition, ordinary tourists and those who come to watch the Olympic Games next summer will experience visiting Notre Dame in a new way.

In addition to free visits, the virtual show will give paying visitors an insight into the cathedral's history, "which will also help Paris' tourism industry."

　　On April 15, 2019, a fire broke out at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The fire engulfed the entire building and caused the church spire to collapse.

The fire was extinguished a day later.

It is reported that France has raised at least 1 billion euros to restore the cathedral.