A year after the inferno that very nearly destroyed it, Notre-Dame faces a fresh crisis as the coronavirus crisis halts its £1billion restoration.
France’s lockdown amid the pandemic comes after a winter in which storms made it too dangerous to work at the devastated Paris cathedral.
Reconstruction is now at least four months behind schedule and it is feared the delay could lead to further collapse. Just before Covid-19 hit, teams were to start dismantling 10,000 scaffolding poles covering the building for the restoration project.
That work should have ended by the end of this year, so replacement of the timber roof beams could begin. But Paris must now wait – and the huge crane looming above the ravaged cathedral is fast becoming a