“Notre-Dame is a national and international symbol” that unites people, he said, and departing from its world-famous architecture would have had a “divisive effect.”“Would we paint the White House red, for modernity’s sake?” Mr. Léniaud said. Mr. Macron’s decision came right after the National Heritage and Architecture Commission, an advisory body that handles important restoration projects, unanimously approved recommendations by architects that Notre-Dame be restored to its prior state. Molten metal, flaming beams and the spire fell into the cathedral’s interior, doing further damage. Progress toward restoring Notre-Dame has been halting. The old scaffolding, which weighs about 200 tons, has to be taken down before the architects can fully assess the state of the building and plan its reconstruction.

Source: International New York Times July 09, 2020 23:03 UTC