Emmanuel Macron News

Wearing new designer vestments and carrying a staff cut from one of the roof beams that survived the inferno, Laurent Ulrich joined hundreds of VIPs inside the Gothic masterpiece for a two-hour ceremony. Ulrich commanded the cathedral to «open your doors» and he entered the magnificently-restored edifice.

Notre Dame Cathedral, the iconic Parisian landmark nearly lost to a devastating fire in April 2019, reopened on Saturday, marking a historic moment of achievement and resilience. The event attracted dignitaries from across the globe, including US President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and First Lady Jill Biden, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious five-year restoration timeline. The reopening ceremony began with Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich symbolically tapping the cathedral’s grand wooden doors three times with a staff crafted from charred remnants of the original roof. This act, steeped in tradition, officially declared the cathedral open for worship. Hymns, prayers, and the resonating tones of the restored 8,000-pipe organ followed, reawakening a sacred space silenced for years.

The 12th-century Gothic masterpiece has now been masterfully restored after a fire gutted the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It will be reopened to the public on Sunday following a ceremony on Saturday, which will be attended by a lineup of heads of state and top-level delegates from around the world- a rare moment of unity against the backdrop of global divisions and conflicts. ALSO READ:

Donald Trump on winning the 2024 election. But for humorous reasons, one post stood out. French President Emmanuel Macron is among the world leaders who have congratulated Donald Trump on his recent victory in the US election. However, one word in Macron's statement has undoubtedly caused some people to take notice. The French leader stated on social media that he is ready to work together with Trump, just as they did during the 78-year-old's previous term in office, which lasted from 2017 to 2020.

The European Union has reached a blockbuster free trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina and the three other South American nations in the Mercosur trade alliance

Macron also emphasised his responsibility to ensure the continuity of the state, the proper functioning of institutions, and the protection of the French people. The remarks by the French President came while he addressed the nation on Thursday from the Elysee Palace.

Bitcoin has hit its highest value ever as early results suggest Republican nominee Donald Trump might be on course to win the 2024 US presidential election.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Uruguay for the final stages in years-long negotiations to clinch a trade deal between the 27-nation EU and the South American Mercosur trade bloc that would create a trans-Atlantic mark...

euro rose marginally against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, but came off session highs, after a widely expected collapse of the French government following a no-confidence vote by opposition lawmakers. The greenback, on the other hand, was little changed overall, as the December interest rate cut chances remained on track amid signs that the American economy was slowing.

Far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces to back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier, with a majority 331 votes in support of the motion. Barnier now has to tender his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron, making his minority government's three-month tenure the shortest lived in France's Fifth Republic beginning in 1958. He is expected to do so on Thursday morning, French media reported.

Marine Le Pen displayed the influence she wields on France by toppling the government but she is also facing a trial that risks banishing her from politics for good. Le Pen, who took over the far-right mantle from her father Jean-Marie, has over the last decade sought to turn her National Rally (RN) party into an electable force, even if critics still accuse it of being inherently racist. The work of «dediabolisation» («de-demonisation») bore fruit in the snap legislative polls this summer, with the RN emerging as the largest single party in the National Assembly, although without the outright majority it had targeted.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ABOUT A YEAR before Notre Dame was set to reopen after a devastating fire, the French general tasked with overseeing the cathedral’s reconstruction, Jean-Louis Georgelin, disappeared. Georgelin, a strapping 74-year-old who had once served as President Jacques Chirac’s military chief of staff, was taking a break in the summer to trek through the Pyrénées.

Michel Barnier's Cabinet. A no-confidence vote is scheduled Wednesday at parliament in the wake of a divisive budget debate, with a great chance of being successful. If the motion passes, Barnier's Cabinet would be the shortest-lived government in France's modern history, marking an unprecedented period of political instability.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Investors are fretting that France may be on the verge of triggering a new eurozone crisis, and the amazing thing is that it took this long for everyone to notice that the country’s public finances, and its economy, are a mess. We don’t mean to make light of the worry gripping markets in recent days as the National Assembly has failed to pass a budget.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is bracing for a no-confidence vote this week, a political reckoning poised to topple his fragile government and send shockwaves across the eurozone

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, damaging large portions of the 860-year-old Gothic-style building, the world is getting a look at the painstaking restoration efforts to bring the church back to life.French President Emmanuel Macron toured the UNESCO World Heritage Site Friday, trailed by a pool of photographers and journalists, taking in the meticulous, €700 million (more than C$1 billion) restoration.And what a difference – “This is overwhelming,” he said as he viewed the glistening, cleaned white stones, Reuters reported.Macron thanked the nearly 400 firefighters who “saved this cathedral” on April 15, 2019 – the day the world watched in horror as a fire that started in the roof spread rapidly, sending flames and smoke high into the sky.“The blaze at Notre Dame was a national wound and you were the remedy, through your determination, hard work and commitment,” he said, speaking to the approximately 1,300 workers who gathered to welcome Macron and celebrate their achievements.The fire destroyed the church’s spire and roof and left heavy smoke and water damage to the main cathedral area of the building.After the fire was extinguished that day, Macron pledged to the public that “we will rebuild the cathedral to be even more beautiful, and I want it to be completed within five years.”On Friday, Marcon gazed up at rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework.Gone are the gaping holes that the blaze scorched into the vaulted ceilings, leaving charred piles of debris. New stonework has been carefully pieced together to repair and fill the wounds that had left the cathedral’s insides exposed to the elements.

«It was a decision that was a totally good one,» Macron said in Brazil, on the sidelines of a G20 summit also attended by US President Joe Biden, who made the policy change. «I understand it was also triggered by a grave change in the conflict which shouldn't be underestimated, which is the entry of North Korean troops alongside Russia on what is European soil,» he told journalists.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Sequels rarely have the same impact as the original. The second Donald Trump presidency that the good people of America have foisted on themselves, and the world, is likely to prove different.

economic growth beat estimates by accelerating by 0.4% in the third quarter 2024 from 0.2% in the second quarter because of impact of the Paris Olympic Games, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had an average forecast of 0.3% for third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth. An influx of tourists attending the Paris Olympics boosted consumer spending in the euro zone's second-biggest economy, which grew 0.5% in the third quarter after a flat performance in the second quarter.

A French delegation visiting Morocco with President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled investment plans in the disputed Western Sahara as part of a broader suite of agreements and partnerships between the two countries

French President Emmanuel Macron is arriving in Morocco, where he is scheduled to meet with the North African kingdom’s leaders and discuss partnerships regarding trade, climate change and managing immigration