Summary

  • We get a first look inside the restored Notre-Dame cathedral as Emmanuel Macron takes a televised tour

  • In a speech, the French president says the building's official reopening - on 7 December - will be a "shock of hope"

  • He also expresses gratitude for the solidarity shown worldwide and by donors, after the cathedral's €700m (£582m) renovation

  • Paris's Gothic jewel was hit by a devastating fire in 2019 which caused its 19th-Century spire to crash to the ground

Watch: First look inside Notre-Dame ahead of reopening

Live Reporting

Edited by Tinshui Yeung with Hugh Schofield reporting from Paris

  1. Inside a spectacular experience

    Hugh Schofield
    BBC Paris correspondent

    Inside the cathedral with newly cleaned windows letting in a lot of light shining inPA Media

    I had a glimpse inside, and what I saw was enough to convince me that it is a spectacular experience.

    It’s not just renovation or a rebuilding of the structure of the roof; it is also a clean-up of the interior, which was not just the cleaning up of the fire, but on top of that, there were 200 years of crud and soot since the last restoration in the 1850s, so all of that has now come off.

    Restorers and cleaners have been using very fine techniques, and the stained glass windows that had all been encrusted from the generations of crud and the fire have all been cleaned, adding to this sense of light that is now coming in.

    There is a new, fresh face to this cathedral.

  2. President's tour takes in one of the rose windows

    Rose window. It is a bright, circular window made up of many panes of purple and blue glass, high up in the cathedral.EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    The French president and his group have just passed one of Notre-Dame's famous rose windows.

    The cathedral boasts three of these windows, all dating back to the 13th Century.

    After the fire in April 2019, cathedral spokesman André Finot told France's news channel BFMTV that they didn't seem to have been affected by the blaze.

  3. Sacred objects that survived the fire

    Macron and others are in the Notre-Dame cathedral as a group looking at the statues as they areEPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    The president was shown the statue of the 14th-century Virgin of the Pillar, one of Notre-Dame's symbols, which was rescued from the fire.

  4. Workers 'never lost sight' of the challenge - chief architect

    A group of people, including Emmanuel Macron, stand in the centre of the brightly-lit Notre-Dame Cathedral. There are arches and columns and high windowsEPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    The French president is now inside the cathedral, speaking with Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect of France's national monuments.

    Villeneuve discusses the reconstruction process, explaining that workers had to be cautious about items falling on their heads.

    He mentions challenges with the weather and the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that they "never lost sight" of their goals.

  5. Macron enters Notre-Dame

    Macron's group in Notre-DameEPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    Macron's group has entered the restored cathedral.

  6. Macron receives introduction outside the cathedral

    Macron is talking to Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. Macron is wearing a navy coat and suit and tie. Hidalgo has a black coat on and orange scarf.EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    President Emmanuel Macron is standing outside Notre-Dame, listening to the introduction of his tour of the medieval cathedral.

    He's joined by several people, including France's First Lady, the Minister for Culture, and the Mayor of Paris.

  7. Macron arrives at Notre-Dame
    Breaking

    French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived at Notre Dame with a TV crew to show the world the restored cathedral, five and a half years after it was devastated by fire.

    Stay with us as we bring you the first glimpse inside the cathedral. You can also click Watch Live at the top of this page to view our live stream.

  8. Watch: How Notre-Dame is rising from the ashes

    While we wait to see what the inside of Notre-Dame looks like, let's watch this video of the fire and the refurbishment efforts that followed.

    Notre-Dame's transformation five years after fire

  9. Notre-Dame: before and after

    These images show the cathedral as it was burning, alongside pictures of the newly restored building taken last Sunday.

    A composite image showing a burning Notre-Dame above the newly restored building, both from the same angleReuters
    A composite image showing a burning Notre-Dame above the newly restored building, both from the same angleReuters

  10. How was the Parisian monument rebuilt?

    Now, in late 2024, the Parisian monument is set to reopen. But how was it rebuilt?

    Once the site was made safe, there was a debate about whether to modernise the building, with ideas like a glass roof and a massive flame to replace the spire.

    These ideas were ultimately rejected, and the reconstruction remains largely true to the original.

    In the end, an estimated 2,000 masons, carpenters, restorers, roofers, foundry workers, art experts, sculptors, and engineers worked on the project.

    The renovation has involved so many resources that it hasn't only repaired the cathedral but also given a huge boost to French crafts; trades like stone carving have seen a big increase in apprenticeships thanks to the publicity.

  11. 'I am sad to see this part of us burn tonight'

    People cry and pray as they look at flames burning the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, FranceEPA

    Thousands gathered in the streets of Paris as flames engulfed the cathedral, many watching through tears.

    Visiting the scene, President Macron said Notre-Dame was a building “for all French people”, even those who had never been there. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the cathedral "part of our common heritage".

    “No other site represents France quite like Notre-Dame,” the BBC’s Henri Astier wrote at the time. “It is impossible to overstate how shocking it is to watch such an enduring embodiment of our country burn.”

    While the building was still aflame, President Macron tweeted: “Like all of my fellow citizens, I am sad to see this part of us burn tonight."

  12. In pictures: Devastation and despair as the cathedral burned in 2019

    Many of us remember these images from five years ago, showing the cathedral engulfed in flames, with firefighters battling to control the blaze while crowds of Parisians looked on.

    The blazing spire of Notre-Dame, engulfed in smoke as it breaks in halfGetty Images
    A cloud of smoke and flame eats into the side of the gothic cathedralGetty Images
    A crowd of onlookers hold their hands to their faces with devastated expressionsGetty Images
    The last embers of the fire, now contained to the heart of the cathedral, burn at night with the Eiffel Tower visible in the backgroundGetty Images

  13. Watch as world to get first look inside Notre-Dame five years after fire

    Cranes are seen around the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in 2019, as restoration works continue before its reopening, in Paris, France, October 23, 2024Reuters

    Bonjour, good morning and welcome to our live coverage as we await our first glimpse inside the newly renovated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

    On the evening of 15 April 2019, viewers around the world watched aghast as orange flames spread along the roof of the cathedral, and then - at the height of the fire - the 19th Century spire crashed to the ground.

    Since then, Notre-Dame has been under repair, and its revamped interior has been kept a closely guarded secret, with only a few images released over the years showing the renovation progress.

    But this morning, France's President Emmanuel Macron is going to conduct a televised tour to mark the cathedral's imminent reopening.

    Our teams in London and Paris will be bringing you updates of the big reveal, and you can follow it as it happens by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page.