Europe

Canadian PM visits ravaged Notre Dame to show solidarity

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, third left, French Culture Minister Franck Riester, right, Notre Dame cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet, second left, and French chief architect of Historical Sites Philippe Villeneuve visit the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Wednesday May 15, 2019 in Paris. (Philippe Lopez/Pool via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, fourth left, French Culture Minister Franck Riester, fourth right, Notre Dame cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet, third left, and French chief architect of Historical Sites Philippe Villeneuve, second left, visit the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Wednesday May 15, 2019 in Paris. (Philippe Lopez/Pool via AP)

French Culture Minister Franck Riester says that a month after a fire engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral, the edifice is still being made safe enough for its restoration to begin.

Riester and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore hard hats for a visit Wednesday inside the Gothic church.

Trudeau said he wanted to show Canadians' solidarity "toward our French cousins." After the devastating April 15 fire, he said, one "can't help but marvel at how so much was saved."

The French culture minister said that operations to secure and conserve the cathedral must be completed before restoration works can start.

He said robots, for instance, were removing gravel from inside the cathedral, to be examined both by ministry experts and police seeking clues about the fire's origin.