Years? Decades? Uncertainty over time needed to rebuild Notre-Dame

Rebuilding the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris could take decades after it was gutted by a fire, experts warned Tuesday, even as its most senior cleric expressed hope he could celebrate mass there within years.

Parisians and people around the world watched in horror on Monday evening as a huge fire ripped through the 850-year-old gothic cathedral, causing its spire and part of the vaulted roof to collapse and triggering a scramble to save its precious relics and artworks.

Declaring that the "worst has been avoided", President Emmanuel Macron immediately vowed; "We will rebuild Notre-Dame together." And pledges of immense donations together already worth hundreds of millions within hours flooded in from the business world in France.

But asked how long the restoration could take, Eric Fischer, head of the foundation in charge of restoring the 1,000-year-old Strasbourg cathedral, which recently underwent a three-year facelift, said: "I'd say decades."
Noting the restoration of Reims cathedral which was bombarded by German forces during World War I took decades, an emotional Bern, 55, told French radio: "You know what hurts me the most? It's the idea that I will not see it again in my lifetime."
President Vladimir Putin of Russia offered to send "the best Russian specialists with rich experience in the restoration of national heritage monuments" while Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini promised "all the help we can give."