Notre-Dame restoration resumes on Monday

Construction workers were back at the burned shell of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday, resuming the mammoth task of rebuilding after the coronavirus outbreak forced a pause of a month and a half.

Fire engulfed the 850-year-old building on the banks of the River Seine on April 15 last year. The flames destroyed the spire and roof and, according to officials, came within 30 minutes of razing the cathedral to the ground. French President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild within five years but work so far has been slow.

Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, the rector of the cathedral, said the work getting underway on Monday was to make the site compliant with social distancing rules so work proper could resume.