French President Macron Joyfully Declares That Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris is Saved

 

Image courtesy of ben.snider's Flickr page - Notre Dame South Glass; France: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13012027@N04/2073417549/in/photolist-4adNNr-cvQnhf-nZbmw1-jvSPF6-e1ZJRk-qx7ff-etH5FJ-7d4jUs-K61XV-98LiUp-ZxSn8k-29nmV5W-57b8nd-bqFMdi-4HX6AX-ohiTRK-4tDtBH-oAjbQv-pjEZh-9EKzhP-2c9nxQW-K63Zc-bqFGT4-K62Cn-247t3YC-6PwFmt-tHzud-4HX6Qa-8oHLNd-dAUqHd-54z6U7-4Je762-66x6VL-4tHwiG-57b921-upaPY-fcmhfa-ohWdN9-K62QT-ax5G9j-4Qk3hx-9ENw2s-4XZGfz-ndH5w9-ax2Umn-54zawE-bqFEjg-4VCa6Y-57b8iC-cSKHSb

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Image courtesy of Pedro Szekely's Flickr page - Notre-Dame Cathedral: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/28198464088/in/photolist-JXNuXj-279v5B9-5gX1JR-xAu3K-6dSqnu-JPqPFy-7dixfF-HMPkfi-kshKXo-8EcaEZ-o476mS-Wkr3Nb-2erDrFb-o8251s-kqW3iN-sv9Kaa-xAy5n-tHDft-6hJS9r-jphU4a-auFpD8-24MY9yy-6hJS8i-tHDfC-aejX58-tHDfv-9EKzfk-tHzua-269d6nT-4adNNr-cvQnhf-nZbmw1-jvSPF6-e1ZJRk-qx7ff-etH5FJ-7d4jUs-K61XV-98LiUp-ZxSn8k-29nmV5W-57b8nd-bqFMdi-4HX6AX-ohiTRK-4tDtBH-oAjbQv-pjEZh-9EKzhP-2c9nxQW

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Image courtesy of Celso FLORES' Flickr page - Paris - Notre Dame: https://www.flickr.com/photos/celso/2701644331/in/photolist-57JCJF-d89ixW-auFqQr-7d2zaw-eusNi4-k5YA4s-K5Y1F-eTeJWP-5FbH6c-drsxSC-7P7XZc-5RVhJd-q6dATN-7uHAxA-auJ785-54zafG-auJ5jh-jpTZSz-4gZsZJ-drs79i-5ZezE4-2erUkQJ-auFr8n-K5YwR-UE2dfm-6qAF6B-K67qP-4xRfqp-N67uDv-4xf5mj-7PbYpy-HL6Rc-9KbPGb-Qj6CDN-7KX5k8-7P7YZX-7tdEfW-5ZpvyJ-8Efn33-5PVksf-opVhJX-aaxo6F-7P7WDv-k61gbc-5RYPCw-9uG6uN-6eDruU-2b5RWtD-nZboiN-WxS2D4

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Image courtesy of David Merrett's Flickr page - Cathedral of Notre Dame  Paris, France: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davehamster/8164290385/in/photolist-drs86k-7Tdz61-drsxSC-8hjNne-ohQyht-drsNcd-fp6vMS-oAjbQv-9TZr1r-37UmJi-sv9Kaa-7TajDe-o8wjDH-7TakZK-68RUm6-eMAQ3N-o8v5Uo-8j32mn-53Hzja-ohWdN9-auFpD8-d89ixW-oWo8Mx-7N1Fzx-cbWgVG-9RVUKM-6FMbRc-2eTZ5gP-2erUkQJ-dvobRE-82TaKK-drsBEB-6HPRsz-2aQ56Cq-9UrP5o-ahwbEL-9U8Nae-6qAF6B-6FzZN6-24PFeSU-2376yCo-7oogRD-esYHyS-wrRA4-Zb8TBh-6FAzuP-82Wmt5-dyW1h4-82T7Yt-6FzTr2

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Okay, how about some good news for a change?

The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is well on the way to recovery following a devastating fire around two years ago. The iconic spire collapsed, and much of the structural integrity of the building itself was compromised. There were fears that it might never recover.

Two years later, however, the recovery efforts appear to be working. 

President Macron recently visited the cathedral, and claimed that "the cathedral is saved."

Good news indeed. 

Now, it may not be open to the public for some time. I would imagine that there is still much work to be done before that happens, as well as a lot of safety precautions obviously particularly relating to fire). But this was wonderful news to hear, and I for one am very, very pleased to hear it. For a very long time, I had wanted to take my son to Paris. But it literally pained me to think that I had failed to take him when it seemed that Notre-Dame might be gone. Again, it might not reopen for a few years, but at least we went to Paris, and he got to see it. Someday, hopefully in the not too distant future, I hope that we can visit the interior of this beautiful cathedral, something that I have not done in over 20 years now.

Here are a couple of pictures of Notre-Dame that are a little more personal. The first one is of me posing in front of the iconic, beautiful cathedral, either in 1998 or 2000. The second one is a picture of the cathedral that I took during the visit to Paris that my son and I took in the late summer of 2019, which was taken from the bateaux-mouche on the Loire (the closest we would be able to get to the cathedral on this particular trip). You can note the absence of the spire in the bottom picture:

This is the only picture that I know of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris with me pictured along with it. It was taken a while ago, as evidenced by the existence of hair on top of my head. I believe that this was taken back in 1998, but it may also have been in 2000. Sitting on a bridge near the Île de la Cité, with the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris in the background — in Paris, France.

 The Notre Dame Cathedral from the Loire 

Another picture of the Notre-Dame de Paris, this one showing much of the scaffolding towards the rear of the church, as efforts to rebuild it were already underway. Again, passing this close to it along the bateaux-mouche ride along the Seine would prove to be the closest that we would ever actually get to the Notre-Dame on this particular trip. I hope that my son and I can return there for an actual visit, both exterior and interior, in the near future. 

‘The cathedral is saved’: Notre Dame two years after the devastating fire by Thomas Adamson, Associated Press| Jeffrey Schaeffer, Associated Press, April 15, 2021:

https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/04/15/macron-visit-notre-dame-fire-anniversary-240448?fbclid=IwAR1lBaNvQ7Fv8zKIbelbiI9RKS3AyM4F-1FXhPyUOrTTUUeAd9SpcYUd3I4