Trump says he’ll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

December 4, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump will make his first foreign trip since the election this weekend, traveling to Paris to attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Associated Press reports that the cathedral, which was nearly destroyed by a massive fire in 2019, will reopen on Saturday with more than 50 heads of state and government expected to be in attendance.

Trump announced his intention to attend the reopening Monday evening in a post on his Truth social media site.

Trump wrote: “It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” adding, “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

According to the AP, the cathedral’s website states that Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside over the reopening service Saturday afternoon which will kick off a large, multi-day celebration.

The Archbishop will also symbolically reawaken Notre Dame’s grand organ whose 8,000 pipes had to be painstakingly disassembled, cleaned and tuned following the 2019 blaze.

Photo: top, Credit: Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP