5 décembre 2024

Bienvenue aux classes de français.—-

This week marks the reopening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.  On December 8th, 2019 the roof of the cathedral started on fire and burned the spire and part of the roof.  The French decided that the cathedral needed to be rebuilt, thus taking a total of 5 years!  It cost nearly 800 million dollars to complete. Much of the money has been donated to the cause by various countries around the world.  French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the reconstruction would be complete in 2024, and on Sunday that pledge will come true.

According to the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the reasons the Cathedral is so important is that it houses the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during his crucifixion.

According to National Geographic, before the fire Notre Dame Cathedral entertained 12 million visitors a year.  With the renovation that number is expected to rise to 15 million a year.  Below are several pictures of the fire and one after the restoration.

The French classes at Lexington, learn about the facts of Notre Dame on a daily basis at the beginning of the year.  They take a quiz over those facts and we have watched videos about the restoration of Notre Dame from 60 Minutes.