France announced Thursday plans to restore the Notre Dame Cathedral exactly as it was before the 2019 fire that consumed the building's roof and spire, The Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Debate has surrounding the cathedral's rebuilding as scholars and political conservatives argued against any design that would modernize Notre Dame, per the Post. Nearly $1 billion was donated for the restoration effort in the weeks and months following the fire.
What they're saying: “The President of the Republic became convinced of the need to restore Notre-Dame de Paris as closely as possible to its last complete state, coherent and well-known, while betting on sustainable development in the choice of materials and site management.”
