BREAKING: President Trump to travel to Paris to attend re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would be attending the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, slated for Saturday. The Cathdral was horribly damaged in a fire in April 2019. It has undergone extensive repairs. 

“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” Trump said. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

The Catholic cathedral is a world heritage site and construction originally began in the 12th century. After the fire, during which three emergency workers were injured, art works and religious relics suffered smoke damage, and the burning roof collapsed, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to have the building restored within five years. The opening comes four months ahead of the deadline. 

The lead roof was upheld with a wooden lattice work called the “forest.” That forest was itself made of oak trees that were centuries old. To repair the roof, some 1,000 oak trees were cut from 200 French forests. These were used to create the new roof and spire for the cathedral. The oaks that were used in the restoration were themselves 150 to 200 yers old and they were cut down in March of 2020. To prevent humidity in the wood, they were cut before the sap rose in the trees.

The wood was dried for 12-18 months, said Friends of Notre Dame Paris, which extensively detailed the process of restoration. At the time of the fire, the cathedral was already slated for restoration projects. The fire, which began under the eaves, put a wrench in the works as the project had to become far more extensive.