France, April 15 -- Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by a fire in April 2019, is on track to reopen on schedule and under budget by December 2024, five years later, the head of the reconstruction has said.
"We are meeting deadlines and budget," Philippe Jost, who heads the public body overseeing the project, told a French Senate committee last week.
Jost praised the work of the 250 companies and artisan groups involved in the reconstruction, which began in spring 2022 after rubble had been cleared and the foundations secured.
Signs the that project is nearing completion are clear. In February, some of the scaffolding was removed tounveil the cathedral's new spire, adorned with a golden rooster and a cross.
The rooster, reimagined as...