Notre Dame Reopens its Doors to Macron, Other World Leaders in a Rare Symbol of Unity

France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral is formally reopening its doors on Saturday for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019.

The restoration, a spectacular achievement in just five years for a structure that took nearly two centuries to build, is seen as a moment of triumph for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline — and a welcome respite from his domestic political woes.

Under the luminous stained glass, many world leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers will gather in the evening to mark the occasion — a rare moment of unity against the backdrop of global divisions and conflicts, The AP reported.

President-elect Donald Trump, America's first lady Jill Biden, Britain's Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among 1,500 guests attending the reopening celebration under Notre Dame’s soaring Gothic arches, led by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich.

Because of strong winds forecast for Saturday evening in Paris, the French presidential palace and the Paris diocese said Friday the entire opening ceremony will be held inside Notre Dame, instead of starting from the cathedral’s forecourt as initially planned.

A sign of hope Notre Dame’s rector, Rev. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, says the cathedral is "more than just a French monument” and a beloved treasure of world's cultural heritage.

“The cathedral is a magnificent symbol of unity," the rector said. "A sign of hope, because what seemed impossible has become possible.”

Saturday’s events will blend solemn religious tradition with an official presidential speech and cultural grandeur, starting with Ulrich symbolically reopening Notre Dame’s grand wooden doors.

Tapping them three times with a staff crafted from charred wood salvaged from the cathedral’s fire-ravaged roof, he will declare the cathedral open for worship once more.

Huguette Euphrasie’s 79-year-old mother, Marie-Yolande, is battling cancer. So as she stared intently up at Notre Dame’s towers, the daughter appealed Saturday to the cathedral for help, with a prayer on the day of the monument’s reopening.

"It has huge spiritual value for me," Euphrasie said, gathering with people from around the world to watch the reopening from screens on nearby riverbanks. “It's very moving.”

Among the thousands lining the Seine were Patricia and Cyrille Brenner, a devout Catholic couple who had traveled overnight from Cannes on the French Riviera. Though they weren’t invited inside, being part of the public viewing along the riverbanks felt like the fulfillment of a pilgrimage.

“It’s a bit like the Cannes festival,” said Patricia, 65. “You have to be there to experience it.”

Her husband Cyrille, 66, marveled at the cathedral’s restoration. For them, the fire — which spared sacred relics, statues, and the altar’s golden cross — held deeper meaning. “When you’re Christian, you tell yourself there are no coincidences,” he said. “If it happened, maybe God was saying, ‘We need to renew that fervor.’”

Solemn rituals Psalms, prayers, and hymns will fill the cavernous space as the cathedral’s thunderous organ, silenced since the fire, is reawakened. The 8,000-pipe instrument, painstakingly restored and cleaned of toxic lead dust, will respond to the archbishop’s invocation, with four organists performing an improvised interplay of melodies.

Later in the evening, a star-studded concert will take center stage inside the cathedral and pay tribute to its resurrection and to those who labored to restore it, offering a universal message of harmony. Pianist Lang Lang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and soprano Pretty Yende are among the world-famous artists slated to perform.

On Sunday, Ulrich will lead the inaugural Mass and consecrate the cathedral’s new altar, designed by contemporary artist Guillaume Bardet to replace the one crushed beneath the flaming spire in the blaze.

Unity in times of global challenges The reopening of Notre Dame comes at a time of profound global unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

For Catholics, Notre Dame's rector said the cathedral "carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.''

“It is a magnificent symbol of unity,” Dumas said.

The range of dignitaries coming to Paris from Africa to the Mideast and the US underline the cathedral's significance as a symbol of shared heritage and peace.

Macron's political woes The celebration is expected to give a much-needed boost to embattled Macron, whose prime minister was ousted this week, plunging the nation’s political scene into more turmoil.

The French president, who has called Notre Dame's reopening “a jolt of hope,” will address the gathering. He had hoped the occasion would briefly silence his critics and showcase France’s unity and resilience under his leadership, and the achievement of restoring Notre Dame in just five years — a timeline that had seemed improbable to many.

Macron's presidency now faces its gravest crisis after the government's collapse this week in a historic no-confidence vote that toppled Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

The vote followed months of political gridlock after snap elections. Calls are now growing louder from opposition forces for Macron to resign. But he vowed Thursday to remain in office until the end of his term in 2027, and said he'll name a new prime minister within days.

As France struggles with economic woes and social unrest, Notre Dame's rebirth celebrations form a stark contrast to the crisis.

Security is tight for this global event Security will be high through the weekend, echoing measures taken during the Paris Olympics earlier this year.

The Île de la Cité — the small island in the River Seine that is home to Notre Dame and the historic heart of Paris— is closed to tourists and non-residents. Police vans and barriers blocked cobblestoned streets in a large perimeter around the island, while soldiers in thick body armor and sniffer dogs patrolled embankments. A special security detail is following Trump.

Public viewing areas along the Seine’s southern bank will accommodate 40,000 spectators, who can follow the celebrations on large screens.

For many, Notre Dame’s rebirth is not just a French achievement but a global one — after the reopening, the cathedral is set to welcome 15 million visitors annually, up from 12 million before the fire.

Following the 2019 fire, nearly $1 billion in donations quickly poured in from around the world, testifying to Notre Dame's universal appeal.

Among those who traveled from afar for the reopening was Canadian Noelle Alexandria.

“It’s not the first time she (Notre Dame) has been nearly in ruin, and every time it’s happened, she’s always managed to bounce back. Not many of us could really say that we would do the same, be able to keep coming back no matter what tragedy strike us. But she has,” Alexandria said.

In the Mazzeh 86 neighborhood, west of the Syrian capital Damascus, the names of many shops, grocery stores, and public squares still serve as a reminder of the era of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.

This is evident in landmarks like the “Al-Hafez Restaurant,” one of the prominent features of this area. Squares such as “Al-Areen,” “Officers,” and “Bride of the Mountain” evoke memories of the buildings surrounding them, which once housed influential officials and high-ranking officers in intelligence and security agencies. These individuals instilled fear in Syrians for five decades until their historic escape on the night of the regime’s collapse last month.

In this neighborhood, the effects of Israeli bombing are clearly visible, as it was targeted multiple times. Meanwhile, its narrow streets and alleys were strewn with military uniforms abandoned by leaders who fled before military operations arrived and liberated the area from their grip on December 8 of last year.

Here, stark contradictions come to light during a tour by Asharq Al-Awsat in a district that, until recently, was largely loyal to the former president. Muaz, a 42-year-old resident of the area, recounts how most officers and security personnel shed their military uniforms and discarded them in the streets on the night of Assad’s escape.

He said: “Many of them brought down their weapons and military ranks in the streets and fled to their hometowns along the Syrian coast.”

Administratively part of Damascus, Mazzeh 86 consists of concrete blocks randomly built between the Mazzeh Western Villas area, the Mazzeh Highway, and the well-known Sheikh Saad commercial district. Its ownership originally belonged to the residents of the Mazzeh area in Damascus. The region was once agricultural land and rocky mountain terrain. The peaks extending toward Mount Qasioun were previously seized by the Ministry of Defense, which instructed security and army personnel to build homes there without requiring property ownership documents.

Suleiman, a 30-year-old shop owner, who sells white meat and chicken, hails from the city of Jableh in the coastal province of Latakia. His father moved to this neighborhood in the 1970s to work as an army assistant.

Suleiman says he hears the sound of gunfire every evening, while General Security patrols roam the streets “searching for remnants of the former regime and wanted individuals who refuse to surrender their weapons. We fear reprisals and just want to live in peace.”

He mentioned that prices before December 8 were exorbitant and beyond the purchasing power of Syrians, with the price of a kilogram of chicken exceeding 60,000 Syrian pounds and a carton of eggs reaching 75,000.

“A single egg was sold for 2,500 pounds, which is far beyond the purchasing power of any employee in the public or private sector,” due to low salaries and the deteriorating living conditions across the country,” Suleiman added.

On the sides of the roads, pictures of the fugitive president and his father, Hafez al-Assad, were torn down, while military vehicles were parked, awaiting instructions.

Maram, 46, who previously worked as a civilian employee in the Ministry of Defense, says she is waiting for the resolution of employment statuses for workers in army institutions. She stated: “So far, there are no instructions regarding our situation. The army forces and security personnel have been given the opportunity for settlement, but there is no talk about us.”

The neighborhood, in its current form, dates back to the 1980s when Rifaat al-Assad, the younger brother of former President Hafez al-Assad, was allowed to construct the “Defense Palace,” which was referred to as “Brigade 86.” Its location is the same area now known as Mazzeh Jabal 86.

The area is divided into two parts: Mazzeh Madrasa (School) and Mazzeh Khazan (Tank). The first takes its name from the first school built and opened in the area, while the second is named after the water tank that supplies the entire Mazzeh region.

Two sources from the Mazzeh Municipality and the Mukhtar’s office estimate the neighborhood’s current population at approximately 200,000, down from over 300,000 before Assad’s fall. Most residents originate from Syria’s coastal regions, followed by those from interior provinces like Homs and Hama. There was also a portion of Kurds who had moved from the Jazira region in northeastern Syria to live there, but most returned to their areas due to the security grip and after the “Crisis Cell” bombing that killed senior security officials in mid-2012.

Along the main street connecting Al-Huda Square to Al-Sahla Pharmacy, torn images of President Hafez al-Assad are visible for the first time in this area in five decades. On balconies and walls, traces of Bashar al-Assad’s posters remain, bearing witness to his 24-year era.

Notre Dame Reopens its Doors to Macron, Other World Leaders in a Rare Symbol of Unity