Notre-Dame Cathedral's Spire Unveiled
The new spire of Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral has been revealed as scaffolding is removed, marking a major milestone in its restoration following the 2019 fire. The event coincides with the beginning of a one-year countdown to the cathedral's planned reopening. French President Emmanuel Macron recently visited the site to commemorate the progress.
- The restoration project's total cost is estimated at around $928 million (€850 million), with over €1 billion pledged from donors across 150 countries. A surplus of approximately $148 million will be allocated to future preservation work on the cathedral. - Major corporate and private contributions included €200 million from Bernard Arnault's LVMH, €100 million from François-Henri Pinault's family, and €200 million from L'Oréal and the Bettencourt Meyers family. Americans were the largest group of foreign donors, contributing an estimated $62 million to the restoration funds. - The project has involved around 1,000 artisans and numerous specialized companies. This includes French construction group Eiffage, which handled stonework and technical systems, and the Belgian company Les Carrières du Hainaut, which supplied 800 square meters of blue stone to reconstruct the damaged floor. - To rebuild the iconic timber-framed roof, famously known as "the forest," carpenters used more than 1,000 oak trees. The reconstruction of the spire and structure was guided by highly accurate 3D laser scans of the cathedral that were created in 2015. - Prior to the 2019 fire, the cathedral attracted approximately 12 million visitors annually. Following the reopening, it is expected to welcome up to 15 million people per year, an influx anticipated to significantly boost tourism revenue for nearby businesses. - While the cathedral reopened to the public in December 2024, the full restoration is ongoing. Additional work on the exterior, including the forecourt, is scheduled to continue into 2027.
