The visit was arranged two days ago, during a call between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. On Mon 2, the American president-elect confirmed his trip to Paris for the much anticipated Saturday reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral,

Macron was welcomed inside by the chief architect of France’s national monuments, shown sacred objects that survived the fire and given explanations of how areas such as the roof and window were remade. The BBC’s Paris Correspondent wrote that it had been a “spectacular experience.”