A year after fire, Notre Dame's restoration suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak

PARIS: It has been a year to the day since a fire devastated the Notre Dame cathedral, causing its spire to collapse leaving the 850-year-old church's future in the rubble. But the sombre anniversary is set to pass with little fanfare as the country's attention is now focused elsewhere-- the coronavirus shutdown that has brought the regular life to a standstill, including the restoration works at the dilapidated monument.

Work at the Paris site has been suspended since March 16, when France introduced widespread measures to help control the spread of COVID-19. And despite the months of recovery work already undertaken, there is ongoing uncertainty about the full extent of the damage, CNN reported.

Army general Jean-Louis Georgelin, President Emmanuel Macron's special representative for the reconstruction, told the French Senate in late January that it was too early to tell whether the cathedral could be saved.

He reported that a number of delicate tasks still needed to be completed in order to fully ascertain the structure's condition, including accessing ceiling vaults for inspection and removing the scaffolding that had been erected before the blaze and had partially melted.

The blaze, which French prosecutors say may have been started by a cigarette or electrical malfunction, elicited solidarity and donations from around the world last April. The Notre Dame Foundation, set up to raise funds in the wake of the fire, said it has thus far collected 55.8 million euros ($60.9 million), more than had of which has already been invested.

However, the site has not been completely silent during the recent lockdown. Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit was one of seven people -- some of whom wore facemasks and hazmat suits -- to record a televised Good Friday service in a secured part of the cathedral last week.

"A year ago, the cathedral was destroyed," Aupetit told CNN affiliate BFMTV before the service.

"Today the country is ravaged by a pandemic. There's always a message of hope, and this celebration at the heart of the cathedral will be the sign of our hope," he added.

The number of people who died from coronavirus infection in France surged over 17,000 while the total tally of infected by the contagion stood at around one lakh, the health ministry said on Wednesday.