The French Senate voted to approve plans to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral and added a clause stipulating that it must be restored to how it was before the fire.
There has been controversy surrounding the restoration of the centuries old church, which was gutted by a massive fire last month. Some have called for the Notre Dame to be rebuilt exactly as it was, while others have pushed to add more modern elements to the Parisian landmark.
The Senate approved the bill Monday which would have the Notre Dame restored before Paris hosts the 2024 summer Olympics, but added that the cathedral must be rebuilt to its “last known visual state.”
The additional language is a rebuff of the government, which had launched an international architecture competition soliciting ideas for the Notre Dame’s redesign. The Senate also removed a clause that would have given the government the power to override planning regulations.
There has been intense debate in Paris over the restoration. French President Emmanuel Macron had called for “an inventive reconstruction” of the cathedral to make it “more beautiful than before.” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said that she favors restoring the monument to how it originally was.
Macron does not have veto power, so the matter will return to the Senate and National Assembly to negotiate an agreement on a final version that will become law.
[Opinion: Notre Dame doesn’t need to be ‘more beautiful than before’]
