The Latest: Bells across France toll to commemorate fire
The bells of
From Sacre Coeur in
The Gothic cathedral is widely regarded as the soul of
At Saint Sulpice church, the second largest house of worship in
President
The cultural heritage envoy for French President
Following a meeting at the presidential palace about the cathedral's reconstruction,
"No one around the table has protested saying this is unrealistic or utopian," Bern said.
Bern was joined at the meeting by ministers, local elected officials, church representatives and top cultural heritage experts.
Bern said Macron didn't express his views regarding the reconstruction of the roof and whether the frame should be in wood, metal or concrete.
These questions, Bern said, "will be answered later."
Bern also said Macron told the meeting that the new spire will hinge on the results of an international architecture competition. Notre Dame's spire collapsed soon after the cathedral caught fire Monday.
In a statement on Wednesday, Disney chairman and chief executive
The cathedral was the setting for Disney's 1996 animated adaptation of
The theme park Disneyland Paris, originally named
President
Trump says in a tweet that he offered "condolences from the People of
And Trump says he offered the help of "our great experts on renovation and construction" and made the same offer to French President
Trump and the pope had clashed over Trump's campaign pledge to build a wall along the southern
Trump says he also wished both the Pope and Macron "a very
The
The concert is being organized by the Fondazione Pro Musica e
A
De Matos said the main risk to the cathedral is the gables above the rose windows, which provide crucial support to the stained glass masterpieces.
He said the structure is particularly exposed to the wind, and the overall structure remains fragile.
Police officials told The Associated Press that the triangular structure is leaning 20 centimeters forward toward the street since the fire.
A
Demay told reporters that the operation was extremely difficult and that the towers could have collapsed "if we hadn't put heavy equipment in place."
Fire fighter spokesman Gabriel Plus told reporters that the rose windows are "in good condition" but that "there is a risk for the gables that are no longer supported by the frame."
He said firefighters took down statues inside the gables above the rose windows to protect them, and took care not to spray water too hard on the delicate stained glass.
He said firefighters and experts are still closely monitoring the building to determine how much damage the structure suffered and what needs to be dismantled to avoid collapse.
In an excerpt of an interview to be broadcast on news channel Hir TV this coming Easter Monday,
Semjen, who is head of the
Semjen said: "May God allow this tragedy to be a sign which shakes up the French nation, not just regarding the reconstruction of the church but also in terms of their own national self-esteem, their own history, their own Frenchness and their own Christianity."
Hungarian Prime Minister
The island that houses the cathedral has been closed to the public since Monday's fire, and its residents evacuated. It's literally the nucleus of
It's also one of the most-visited spots in
"No one is talking about us," he said. Bustling streets are now "totally closed. I don't have access to my office."
He also expressed concern for the stability of the cathedral and its central rose window. Its spire collapsed and roof was destroyed in the fire.
French Prime Minister
Speaking after a special
He said one measure will aim at ensuring that all donations actually end up going to Notre Dame.
The bill will also allow French ordinary citizens to get special tax cuts if they make a donation.
Another measure will enable the French state to adapt legal procedures in order to ease the reconstruction.
The organist who was playing at evening mass inside Notre Dame when flames began heading towards the iconic cathedral's roof says people didn't immediately react when the fire alarm rang as a priest was reading from the Bible.
Johann Vexo says "nobody knew exactly what it was because it was the first time that we heard it inside the cathedral."
People then started to leave the building but some, including Vexo, later came back. The organist says he spent another 20 minutes inside the cathedral, chatting to colleagues, before finally leaving at about
Vexo says he didn't see fire or smoke and "really thought that it was just something not working good or just a mistake, or whatever."
Notre Dame's spectacular and unique great organ seemingly escaped largely intact from the blaze that destroyed the roof and spire.
Notre Dame's rector says he will close the burned-out
Bishop
Chauvet said "a segment of the cathedral has been very weakened" by the devastating fire. He did not elaborate which section he was talking about.
He added it was unclear what the church's 67 employees would be doing in the future.
The French prime minister has announced an international competition for architects to see if the spire of
Philippe said the competition will also assess whether the spire should be "adapted to technologies and challenges of our times."
He said authorities have no estimate yet of the total cost of the renovation work. Macron said Tuesday he wants the cathedral to be rebuilt in five years.
Philippe said: "This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility."
The
Investigators will continue with interviews Wednesday, saying the inquiry will go on until prosecutors uncover "the truth and identify the origin" of the blaze. On Tuesday, investigators spoke with around 30 witnesses, including employees of companies involved in the church's restoration and security personnel.
The orchestras want to support
"Stabat Mater" is a key religious piece by Dvorak. The oratorio was said to be inspired by the death of his three children.
St Vitus is the biggest and most important Czech cathedral and the "Concert for Notre Dame" will be broadcast live by Czech public radio and television.
The pope said Wednesday that "I take this opportunity to express to the
Addressing those gathered, pope said, "I was very sad and I feel very close to all of you."
He expressed "the gratitude of the whole church to those who did their utmost to save the Basilica, also risking their lives."
The pope on Tuesday sent a telegram of condolences to Paris Archbishop
Nearly
Construction teams brought in a huge crane and a delivery of planks of wood to the site Wednesday morning.
French President
Presidential cultural heritage envoy
Authorities consider the fire an accident.
Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/NotreDameCathedral
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