The reconstruction of is going fast enough to allow its reopening to visitors and faithful at the end of 2024, less than six years after a fire ravaged its roof, French officials said Monday.

The cathedral91裸聊视频檚 iconic spire, which , will gradually start reappearing above the monument this year in a powerful signal of its revival, the army general in charge of the colossal project, Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, said.

91裸聊视频淭he return of the spire in Paris91裸聊视频� sky will in my opinion be the symbol that we are winning the battle of Notre Dame,91裸聊视频� he told the Associated Press.

The reconstruction itself started last year, after more than two years of work to make the monument stable and secure enough for artisans to start rebuilding it.

Authorities have made the choice to rebuild the 12th century monument, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the way it was before. That includes added in the 19th century by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

Meanwhile, an exhibition called 91裸聊视频淣otre-Dame de Paris: at the heart of the construction site91裸聊视频� is to open to visitors on Tuesday in an underground facility in front of the cathedral. Accessible for free, it highlights ongoing operations on the site and the expertise and skills of workers. It also features some remains from the fire and works of art from the cathedral.

Gen. Georgelin said the cathedral will reopen in December 2024, in line with the goal set by President Emmanuel Macron just after the fire 91裸聊视频� yet it will be too late for the next year.

91裸聊视频淢y job is to be ready to open this cathedral in 2024. And we will do it,91裸聊视频� Gen. Georgelin said. 91裸聊视频淲e are fighting every day for that and we are on a good path.91裸聊视频�

This 91裸聊视频渕eans that the archbishop of the capital will be in a capacity again to celebrate the Catholic liturgy in his cathedral91裸聊视频� and the monument will also 91裸聊视频渂e open for tourists to visit,91裸聊视频� he said.

Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak told the AP that this doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean all the renovation will be finished then. 91裸聊视频淭here will still be some renovation work going on in 2025,91裸聊视频� she stressed.

Meanwhile, the new exhibition near the cathedral will allow visitors, including those coming for the Olympics, 91裸聊视频渢o live what could be this experience of visiting Notre-Dame in a brand new way,91裸聊视频� she said. In addition to the free visit, a virtual reality show will allow paying visitors to dive into the history of the cathedral. 91裸聊视频淭hat will help also tourism in Paris,91裸聊视频� she added.

Everyday in the capital and across the country, about 1,000 people work to rebuild Notre Dame, Gen. Georgelin said.

91裸聊视频淭he biggest challenge is to comply precisely every day to the planning we have done,91裸聊视频� he stressed. 91裸聊视频淲e have a lot of different works to achieve: the framework, the painting, the stones, the vault, the organ, the stained glass and so on.91裸聊视频�

Philippe Jost, managing director of the government agency overseeing the reconstruction, noted that the result 91裸聊视频渨ill be faithful to the original architecture91裸聊视频� both because 91裸聊视频渨e are sticking to the vanished shapes of the cathedral91裸聊视频� and because 91裸聊视频漺e are also sticking to the materials and construction methods91裸聊视频� of medieval times.

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 do concrete vaults that look like stone, we do stone vaults that we rebuild as they were built in the Middle Ages,91裸聊视频� Jost said, adding that the roof framework will also be made from oak like it initially was.

91裸聊视频擩effrey Schaeffer and Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press