While President Emmanuel Macron has an obvious political interest in reopening the severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, experts call for patience and reject improbable deadlines. 

A host of engineers, scientists, and conservators will have to inspect the structural integrity of the ancient limestone vaults and oak roof beams, survey the condition of the 13th-century stained-glass rose windows, investigate the immediate and long-term destruction caused by the water used to put out the flames, and, ultimately, find enough old-growth oak trees to restore the roof timbers in a historically authentic fashion—and the appropriately trained artisans to execute this work.

The renovation is certain to be "very long and delicate, and we absolutely can’t say it will take four, five or ten years," the architectural historian Alexandre Gady tells The Art Newspaper. "The president should have said we will do it as well as we can, not as fast. It is the monument that commands—we must obey."