Notre Dame Cathedral is reborn in a darkened world
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PARIS—The limestone facade of Notre Dame Cathedral is radiant. Its ornate gargoyles and angels show no signs of the smoke and flames that once billowed from the church.
The cavernous interior is immaculate, the soot having been meticulously scrubbed from its arches. By almost any metric the restoration of Notre Dame has been a success, coming just five years after a fire swept across the masterpiece of Gothic architecture nearly destroying it. A host of global figures, including President-elect Donald Trump, are scheduled to pay homage to the church in a Saturday ceremony to inaugurate its reopening.
Notre Dame’s revival is nothing short of a miracle to many, a sign that cooperation across France and beyond to achieve a singular goal is still possible. Yet the gleaming cathedral also stands in contrast to the dark times that have enveloped Paris and the world. Wars are raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the U.S.-led international order that has prevailed since the end of World War II is at a turning point.
Trump has fueled the anxieties of leaders across Europe by questioning Washington’s commitment to underpinning Europe’s security architecture without greater contributions from allies. He also wants to impose tariffs that would punish the continent’s economy. Nowhere is the malaise more apparent than in France.
Its economy has nearly stalled. Its public finances are in disarray. And this week the government collapsed in a parliamentary no-confidence vote for the first time since 1962.
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