Forget that France is without a government, forget illiberal winds, superpower tensions and the overseas wars. On Saturday, the City of Light welcomes the world for the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral. 

How the planet has changed in the five years since Our Lady of Paris was destroyed by fire. The presence at the grand reopening of US president-elect Donald Trump can attest to that, further proof that Notre-Dame means so much to so many over the world. 

So what does it mean? A place of worship? An attraction in the bigger tourist playground that is Paris? A relic of history? A measure of timelessness? What does it mean today and what's the current evolution of that meaning? 

 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Ilayda Habip, Elisa Amiri, Rebecca Gnignati