Paris: reopening of Notre-Dame
Five years ago, images of the burning Notre-Dame Cathedral went around the world. The cause of the fire has still not been established. Now the cathedral, a key Parisian landmark, will reopen on the weekend. The embattled French President Emmanuel Macron, will give a speech in the presence of numerous heads of state and government. The press takes stock.
A remarkable achievement
The reconstruction of the cathedral should be seen in a positive light despite France's current woes, Le Quotidien insists:
“Schools lack teachers, hospitals lack nursing staff and beds, and the French lack a real government, but Notre-Dame has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. Come, let us not be bitter, let's see the glass as half full and not half empty! Let's rejoice that such a monument can once again open its doors and welcome thousands of visitors and worshippers. That it has finally regained its former splendour and colour: the walls are once again radiant, the stained glass windows shimmer with colour. ... Without doubt, the real star on Saturday will be Notre-Dame. And all the hard-working hands that have made this miracle possible!”
As Europe falls apart
US President-elect Donald Trump is visiting Paris to attend the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening ceremony in the midst of the political turmoil, observes Die Presse:
“Pro-European centre parties are eroding everywhere, failing to find answers to the rise of the neo-nationalists. The latter, for their part, are looking forward to Trump. But they, too, could well be disappointed. The future US president may invite them to Mar-a-Lago or give them a photogenic hug, but otherwise he probably couldn't care less about them. For Trump, Europe is a crumbling relic that he no longer wants to save from collapse with US money. Macron won't impress the US tycoon with his Notre-Dame party on Saturday either. For Trump, Macron is now just the unpopular president of an ungovernable country on a weak continent.”
All bad news since the fire
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, film director Alexander Rodnyansky has very high expectations for the reopening of the cathedral:
“I am not a fan of mystical theories and certainly not someone who believes in otherworldly forces, but one old superstition appeals to me according to which all the earthly troubles of recent years - the pandemic, wars, political upheavals and chaos - are linked to the Notre-Dame fire. That it was this cathedral that protected the Earth from global problems. If this superstition is true, then surely our problems will disappear with the restoration of the cathedral? For lack of rational scenarios we are beginning to believe in fairytale ones.”