Phoenix Of Paris: Notre-Dame Restoration Reaches Finish Line 5 Years After Inferno

The reopening is slated for December and is currently proceeding as planned, according to the project’s lead official.

“We are on time and on budget,” Philippe Jost said last month at a Senate hearing.

Jost informed lawmakers that the project had incurred a cost of 550 million euros ($587 million) thus far, partly funded by substantial donations, including contributions from billionaires in the luxury sector such as Francois Henri Pinault and the Arnault family. He noted that the donations were so generous that there would be surplus funds available for additional investments in the building.

“An additional 150 million euros should be made available and – provided the approval of our sponsors – it will be used to restore the cathedral and tackle problems that predate the fire, which mainly concern the exterior stonework,” Jost added

At the age of 63, Jost, a trained engineer with extensive experience in the defence ministry, assumed the role following the untimely death of his predecessor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in a hiking accident in August 2023.

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