General Jean-Louis Georgelin, the retired French general supervising the restoration of Notre Dame, died last week in a hiking accident in the Pyrenees, but officials say that the work on the cathedral will remain on schedule.
The work has reached the stage where framework for the spire, which collapsed in the April 2019 fire, is being installed; the huge wooden frames were floated to the site by boat in July, and the spire is expected to be completed by late October.
At the time of the fire, French President Macron pledged that rebuilding would be complete in time for the 2024 summer Olympics next July, but that date has been pushed forward to December 8, 2024, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, more work will be needed after that for finishing touches.
