France, Feb. 3 -- Notre-Dame cathedral, badly damaged by fire in 2019, should reopen by the end of 2024, according to France's Culture Ministry- too late for the Paris Olympics. The cathedral's distrinctive spire should nonetheless be back in place by the end of this year.

While the culture ministry, which is responsible for the cathedral's structure, says reconstruction work is progressing "at a good pace", the cathedral will not be open in time for the Olympic Games,which Paris is due to host in July and August 2024.

Before the 2019 blaze which destroyed the roof, the spire and much of the 12th-century building's fabric, Notre-Dame typically attracted 12 million visitors every year.

This week saw the beginning of preparatory work for...