View of a light show rehearsal on the facade of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years after a fire ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, on the eve of reopening ceremonies in Paris, France, December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
PARIS (Reuters) -The word "Merci" was projected on to the front of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral as it reopened on Saturday, in thanks for its salvation after a devastating fire that brought the 860-year-old building close to collapse five years ago.
The cathedral's bells rang out and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, struck the doors of Notre-Dame three times with his crozier before symbolically reopening the building, as the ceremony started. First responders who helped preserve the Gothic masterpiece and some of those who subsequently restored it received a standing ovation.
