On the evening of April 15, 2019, the world watched in horror as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames and its burning spire crashed through the roof. Firefighters battled into the night to save the 850-year-old edifice. As the flames spread, Notre-Dame was at very real risk of collapse but luckily it remained standing.
Two years on, work is still in progress to shore up the cathedral's fragile medieval structure and pave the way for its renovation, which is scheduled to begin in earnest this summer. The epic project has faced setbacks, including lead contamination, bad weather and the Covid-19 pandemic. As such it will be an uphill battle to meet the ambitious five-year deadline set by French President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of the fire.
FRANCE 24's reporters Catherine Norris-Trent and Mélina Huet gained access to the ongoing work at the heart of Notre-Dame and met the men and women racing to save the much-loved monument.
>> 'Bravo,' Macron tells workers on Notre-Dame rooftop, two years after blaze
