Author: THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press

PARIS — The day after the inferno struck Notre Dame on April 15, 2019, Philippe Villeneuve walked despondently into the remains of his cathedral. Smoke choked the spring air, the spire lay in rubble, and charred beams littered the nave. “We had lost the framework, the roof, the spire, and three sections of the vault,” […]

PARIS — Five years after a catastrophic fire reduced Notre Dame Cathedral to a smoldering shell, The Associated Press entered the Gothic masterpiece for a first glimpse of its fully restored interiors during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron that was broadcast to the public. The transformation is nothing short of breathtaking: light dances […]

PARIS — The bells of Notre Dame are chiming again, but scaffolding still clinging to the cathedral’s exterior is puzzling some Parisians, who question whether its grand post-blaze reopening is more symbolic than substantive. When French President Emmanuel Macron inspects the rebuilding work on Friday, in his final tour of the construction site, he’ll see […]

PARIS — More than five years after the devastating fire ravaged Notre Dame, igniting nearly $1 billion in pledged donations within days, restoration chief Philippe Jost says €140 million (around $148 million) still remains from the funds as the cathedral prepares to reopen next month. The surplus, sourced from both billionaire benefactors and countless small […]

PARIS — Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019’s devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes. On Thursday, the Gothic landmark took delivery of three new bells, including one that was used in the city’s Stade de France stadium during this year’s Paris Olympic Games. The Olympic bell, a […]

PARIS — As dusk falls over the City of Light, a new spectacle is illuminating Saint-Sulpice church, a monument whose interiors are even larger than Notre Dame’s — and arguably just as breathtaking. The cavernous walls of the neoclassical gem on Paris’ Left Bank are coming alive with 360-degree video projections, sparkling cutting-edge technology and […]

PARIS — Seven people have been charged in connection with cyberbullying targeting Thomas Jolly, the artistic mastermind behind the Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, French authorities announced Friday. The online attacks erupted after Jolly’s acclaimed but controversial opening July spectacle on the Seine — a queer-inclusive, high-energy fusion of tradition and modernity that, for […]