Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump joined numerous world leaders on Saturday during the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The cathedral had been shut down for five years after the historic location was nearly destroyed by fire.
Trump was seated between First Lady Jill Biden, who attended with her daughter Ashley, and French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron during the ceremony.
President Joe Biden did not attend the event.
Other dignitaries and national leaders included Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was also among those in attendance.
According to Fox News, “The $740 million restoration project was funded by donations from 150 countries and involved the application of carpentry methods dating back to the 13th century.”
Trump announced last Monday that he would travel to Paris, France, to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
“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!” he added.
Macron hosted a televised tour of the cathedral the previous Friday previewing the newly reconstructed location.
“The shock of the reopening will, I want to believe, be as powerful as the one of the fire. But it will be a shock of hope,” Macron said. “The inferno of Notre Dame was a wound for the nation. And you were its remedy.”
The BBC reported that Macron also addressed those who worked to rebuild the structure.
“The blaze at Notre-Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment,” he stated. “I am so deeply grateful, France is so deeply grateful,” the president said during his speech, adding, “you have brought Notre-Dame back.”
