World gets first look at Notre Dame’s new interior 5 years after devastating fire

In the square outside, he was surrounded by crowds of cheering artisans, architects, business leaders and donors. 

The walls are brilliant white, the murals restored to their original resplendent colours. A brand new altar and golden cross bring a modern touch to the medieval church. The oak ceiling, turned to ashes and holed by the spire that came crashing down, has been replaced with new wood. Fire doors and sprinklers are a modern addition.

The crown of thorns, said to be the wreath placed on Jesus Christ’s head during his crucifixion, and one of the cathedral’s most sacred items, will sit in a sparkling reliquary.

Macron was met with ridicule when he vowed to rebuild the cathedral and see it reopened to the public by 2024, after much of the medieval monument’s roof and signature spire were destroyed by the

But although restoration efforts will likely continue for years, the French president has made good on his promise with Notre-Dame set to open its doors to the public for the first time on Dec. 7.

“It was a challenge many deemed impossible, yet one we will have met on,” Macron said. “This once-in-a-century project has been conducted in extraordinary conditions. It required a collaboration of France’s best experts and specialists.”

On the night of the fire thousands of horrified Parisians and tourists looked on, many with tears in their eyes, as Notre Dame’s iconic spire — known in France as “la fléche,” or arrow — lurched and crashed into the inferno. Within minutes one of the most recognizable sights in the French capital was gone. 

While part of the cathedral, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, was undamaged, nearly $1 billion in pledged donations were made within a day of the fire.

Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, the public body responsible for the conservation and restoration of the cathedral, estimated at the time that it would cost $760 million.

Work quickly began on the medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature as teams of specialist craftsmen flew in from around the world to help out.

Louise Bausiere, who spent the last two years working on the cathedral’s knave told NBC News Wednesday said she hoped people would admire the work they had done.

“To make it in five years was hard,” she said. “We had to do it, there was no choice.”

The team “took photos and looked at archives and made it exactly the same,” she said. “The techniques, the visuals, the aesthetics, everything is exactly the same.”

It was “easier today because of technology,” she added.

Macron’s visit comes at a time of political turmoil in France over Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s plans for a budget involving 60 billion euro ($62 billion) of spending cuts and tax rises despite lacking a majority in parliament, leading to threats to topple the government from far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

And his administration is hailing the reconstruction as a symbol of national unity and French can-do.

Since the cathedral’s first stone was laid in the 12th century, the cathedral has undergone frequent revivals.

It was also the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and his wife, Empress Joséphine, in 1804 and its huge bells rang out on Aug. 24, 1944, to celebrate the liberation of Paris from German occupiers.

The stone gargoyles and religious relics it housed — including for a time Jesus’ Crown of Thorns — drew flocks of pilgrims for centuries

Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “Notre-Dame de Paris,” known to many as “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” not only immortalized the cathedral’s story, but inspired a major restoration of the site.

Macron will return on Dec. 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn Mass the following day.