The bells of Notre Dame echoed for the first time since the famous cathedral in Paris was devastated by fire in 2019. The famous monument will open its doors to the public again on December 8, they report foreign media.

The sound of the eight bells in Notre Dame's north bell tower was heard a month before the cathedral reopened after five years of painstaking restoration after the fire.

"This is a beautiful, important and symbolic step," said Philip Yost, who heads the public body tasked with restoring the cathedral under challenging circumstances.

On the evening of April 19, 2019, Parisians and the world watched in horror as flames ravaged the World Heritage site.

President Emmanuel Macron quickly set the ambitious goal of restoring Notre Dame Cathedral within five years and making it "even more beautiful" than before. About 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilized for a restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Friday, the bells were rung one by one until all eight had rung in harmony for about five minutes.

"It's not perfect yet, but we'll make it perfect." This first test was successful," said Alexandre Gugeon, who is in charge of re-installing the bells.

Each bell had already been checked individually on Thursday.

"We all felt an intense emotion," said the cathedral's rector, Guillaume Norman, after hearing the bells ring.

"It's November 8 and Notre Dame is saying to us: 'I'm here, waiting for you,'" he added, calling the sounds "a signal of joy."

A fire in 2019 destroyed part of the north bell tower, which required that it be rebuilt and the bells removed, cleaned of dust and lead, and then returned to their space.

The heaviest bell called "Gabriel" weighs over four tons, and the lightest "Jean Marie" 800 kilograms.

On the weekend of December 7 and 8, ceremonies will be held to mark the reopening of Notre Dame. No detailed program has been released for the event, but Jost told broadcaster RTL on Friday that there will be "great international artists, which the cathedral deserves".

Unconfirmed reports suggest that former Beatles member Paul McCartney - who is due to perform concerts in Paris on December 4 and 5 - could be part of the program for the reopening of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is expected to welcome 14 million to 15 million visitors a year after the reopening, compared with 12 million in 2017 before the fire.

The bells of Notre Dame in Paris rang out together on Friday for the first time since a 2019 fire that devastated the historic cathedral, AFP reporters said.https://t.co/P7BQwDtrLZ pic.twitter.com/zvjTbnlvsP

- AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 8, 2024

Notre Dame Cathedral will open to the public on December 8, 2024