PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday will bestow awards on around 100 craftspeople and officials who helped restore Notre Dame to its former glory after a fire nearly destroyed the beloved Paris cathedral six years ago.
The ceremony at the Elysee Palace will take place from early Tuesday evening, around the same time the devastating fire broke out at the Gothic masterpiece on April 15, 2019.
Macron will bestow the awards in the presence of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and government members including Culture Minister Rachida Dati.
Jean-Claude Gallet, who presided over the Paris fire brigade during the disaster, will also be in attendance.
“You have achieved what was thought impossible,” Macron told restoration workers and officials after he toured the cathedral last November, days before the cathedral re-opened to the public on December 7.
On Tuesday, Macron will once again speak of France’s “pride” over the operation’s success, according to his team, which said an average of 30,000 people a day now visit the restored cathedral.
Macron will also honor Philippe Jost, who headed the public organization tasked with restoring the cathedral and was elevated to the rank of “commander” of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest national award.
Jost succeeded Jean-Louis Georgelin, the general who had been put in charge of overseeing the restoration but who died in 2023.
Georgelin was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest rank of the award established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
The architects Remi Fromont and Philippe Villeneuve will also be decorated.
Alongside them, nearly 100 civil servants, entrepreneurs and craftspeople will be awarded the Legion of Honour or the National Order of Merit, another top award established by Charles de Gaulle.
They represent around 2,000 people who took part in the restoration of the cathedral.
They come from “all the trades” and include carpenters, ironworkers, scaffolders, rope access workers, organ restorers and stained glass artisans, the French presidency said.
Aymeric Albert, who will be made a knight of the Legion of Honour, combed the forests of France to select oak trees needed to rebuild the spire, the nave and the choir.
The massive restoration project was financed thanks to nearly 850 million euros (around $960 million at today’s rate) in donations from all over the world.
Macron to honor craftspeople who rebuilt Notre Dame
https://arab.news/2e9cx
Macron to honor craftspeople who rebuilt Notre Dame
- “You have achieved what was thought impossible,” Macron told restoration workers
- On Tuesday, Macron will once again speak of France’s “pride” over the operation’s success
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
