Notre Dame
"This is overwhelming," French President Emmanuel Macron said as he toured the site and viewed the glistening, cleaned white stones.
There's a very Parisian reason behind the celebration.
Since a huge fire tore through Paris’ iconic Notre Dame, architects have been designing new ways to rebuild the Cathedral’s famous roof and spire. Submissions for the new design have featured illuminated crystal, golden flames, beams of light, a greenhouse and even a swimming pool. However, it looks unlikely that any of these designs will become a reality after the French senate stated that the roof of the 850-year-old landmark must be built exactly as before.
From leaking roofs, ill-fitting windows and faulty guttering to crumbling stonework, exploding steam systems, asbestos, we must not let a good crisis go to waste, as the saying goes
The cathedral is still being stabilised.
'I think both can be done.'
Churches have long been centres of communities, places of help for the orphan and widow – but their communities are declining and so are their buildings
The auction website said such items sought to “profit from human tragedy or suffering”.
Former first lady Michelle Obama sent her thoughts to the people of Paris, urging them to unite in response to the Notre Dame fire. Obama was visiting the French capital to promote her new book.
I always struggled to define 'being European' but seeing that spire fall gave me a sense of continental solidarity and identity