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Macron Tours Restored Notre Dame, 5 Years After Raging Fire; Australia Bans Social Media for Kids Under 16. Aired 4:30-5 am ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[04:32:13]

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: French President Emmanuel Macron is set to tour Notre Dame Cathedral this hour, and the historic building itself is set to rise like the phoenix from the devastating fire five years ago that shook Parisians and the world. Its grand reopening is set for next week.

Along with Mr. Macron, we'll get a glimpse inside the Gothic Cathedral and its more than $700 million rebuild. The resurrection of the Catholic Church next week includes a series of ceremonies and the first mass on December 8th.

Well, CNN's Melissa Bell joins us from Paris. Melissa, there must be a great deal of excitement where you are, and we are now looking at pictures of Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte shaking hands with officials.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, this, Anna, is not his first visit to the construction site. As you can imagine, it's his seventh, but it is also his last because, as you said, the grand reopening of Notre Dame just over five years after that fire had engulfed such huge parts of the cathedral is due to happen.

Now, it was on the very night of the fire that the French President announced that in five years they would rebuild it. Very few had believed that that was possible, but it has happened. And so, with the French president, we will be discovering for the first time the inside of Notre Dame since that very ambitious and remarkably quick restoration has been able to take place.

Now, it isn't finished. The actual full restoration of the cathedral, Anna, will only take place in 2030. But it is sufficiently done, sufficiently restored, that by next week the first mass will be held and the grand opening in and around the cathedral can take place. But this is an opportunity to see the result of so much of that very intricate work that has gone on over the first -- the last five years.

The two first years, Anna, remarkably, were just spent securing the thing to ensure that it didn't collapse under the weight of the parts of it that had been made more fragile as a result of that fire. Then, of course, the stonemasons, the woodworkers, the guilders, the actual artisans who were able to restore it to its original medieval splendor were able to get inside. And that's what we're getting a glimpse of today.

You know, this is a cathedral that means so much to so many, not just Parisians, but, of course, almost any tourist who's ever come through Paris will have taken the trouble at least to come to the outside, if not inside. And it is a chance now to rediscover that. And I think speaking to that are the amount of people who've given to the restoration of Notre Dame over the course of the last five years.

It is, Anna, an astonishing 340,000 donors from 150 countries who have raised, in the end, nearly $900 million towards the restoration of the cathedral. And I think that speaks to the place that it has in the hearts of so many around the world.

[04:35:05]

Anna.

COREN: Melissa, we've been looking at pictures of the President and his wife, obviously, meeting officials. It looks like they're getting perhaps a rundown of what has been done before they enter the cathedral.

You live in Paris. Explain to us, you know, what this cathedral, the reopening of this cathedral, means for Parisians and for the French.

BELL: Well, it has such an important place, not just in France's history, but in France's literature as well. And there isn't a French person alive who hasn't been traipsed through it as a child and to whom it speaks on a very personal level. And I think on the evening when the flames began to appear from its rooftop, that's what you saw.

It was originally, initially, just on social media, and those pictures had very quickly spread. And so people had come physically to surround the cathedral to watch over the course of the evening. As the flames engulfed huge parts of it, the front tower, there were fears for a while, as the flames were still burning unchecked, that the left-hand tower of the cathedral might entirely collapse, that parts of it could be sufficiently compromised, that it fell apart.

That's more than 1,000-year-old cathedral. The crowds that had gathered watched and hoped and prayed. There were singing, incredibly moving scenes over the course of the evening until the firemen were able to bring it under control.

And that took many hours. Remember that inside the cathedral there was, and there is now because of the 2,000 oaks that have been involved in the reconstruction, the restoration of Notre-Dame. This was a tinderbox. You were talking about 1,000-year-old beams of wood that made up the roofing of Notre-Dame that simply went up in flames, and very quickly and very violently.

And by the end of the evening, as it progressed, the moment when the spire, of course, collapsed, to huge gasps and screams from the crowd, the fear was that the damage would be that much more extensive. I think what's remarkable five years on is that they have managed to rebuild it. They have managed to secure it.

And what Emmanuel Macron is doing here today with his wife, with the French Minister of Culture as well, the mayor of Paris, is they've come for this final visit of Notre-Dame before its grand opening to thank some of the 2,000 men and women who've been involved in this extraordinary restoration project, to thank them for their work, to have a look at the final touches that are being put on the inside of the cathedral in order that it can reopen to the public next week.

Anna.

COREN: Melissa, we just got a glimpse of what was on that board, which perhaps is the finished product of what, you know, Notre-Dame will look like, as the officials explain this to the French President.

But let's talk about the reconstruction, because I read somewhere that some sources within the Elysee Palace are saying that the word of the day is splendor, that what has happened, this restoration, has really opened up the cathedral itself within. What are you learning?

BELL: Splendor, I think that's exactly right. We've had the great good fortune of being able to get inside a few years ago and to have a look at some of the beginning of that work. And I think what was most striking about it, Anna, was the intricacy of the work that's going on.

When you think of Notre-Dame, when you look at Notre-Dame, you think scale, but when you look at it in detail, whether it is the stonework on the outside, the intricacy of the facade on the other side from where I'm standing, and that's true inside as well. It is so vast when you're inside, but the details of the gold, the paintings, the woodwork, the carving, the stonework is such that you really can spend many hours just in awe of the splendor of the interior of Notre-Dame. And that is, of course, what we rediscovered today.

There had been some doubt, Anna, that this could be done at all. You'll remember that on the night of the fire, Emmanuel Macron, and if you cast your mind back to 2019, this was not a happy time for the French president. Gilets jaunes were in the streets of Paris. There was a great deal of social unrest. He'd stood that night on the other side of Notre-Dame and said, look, we will rebuild and we'll do so in five years. And there had been those who thought it simply couldn't be done given the intricacy of that detail, given the scale of the entire thing, given the fact that it wasn't at all clear that it would entirely stay standing.

And yet, under the leadership of a French army general who's now passed, General Jean Georgelin, they did manage to do it by getting all of the craftsmen and women that they needed inside to do it.

It was also, Anna, one of the first questions they had to ask themselves was whether or not they wanted to rebuild it exactly as it had been, or whether they wanted to try and do something different with it. The answer came that it would be rebuilt exactly as it was, and that's what we will rediscover today with the French President on his final visit of the construction site. Just how close to the original they've managed to make it and what the feel of it inside is five years after most of us have been able to set foot inside.

[04:40:15]

COREN: Amazing. Well, it will be incredible when you finally get that opportunity to walk inside. It looks like the French President, along with the officials he is with, are making their way now into the cathedral.

So no doubt we will be crossing back to you, Melissa, for more. But let's now go to Ariel Weil, the Mayor of the Paris Centre.

Ariel, how are you feeling about this historic day?

ARIEL WEIL, MAYOR OF PARIS CENTRE: I'm feeling very excited. In a few minutes I'll be departing to Notre Dame to see the President and Mayor of Paris. Obviously I've been there almost every day, every week at least in the past few weeks. I've seen the inside that everyone's going to discover and it's going to be splendor, as you said.

COREN: Yeah, tell us about what we are going to see. I think the TV cameras are following the President and his delegation as they walk through. What are we going to see?

WEIL: Yes, I've been banned from showing any pictures or saying even a word of what I've seen inside. But I think now is the time when I can start to say the inside, I think that nobody alive on this planet has seen Notre Dame -- the inside of Notre Dame the way it is going to look today to the entire world and next weekend, obviously, when it reopens officially.

It is almost brand new. The stones, they look like they were -- when they were first laid, which may have been a few -- the last time, may have been a few hundred years ago. And I'm not even sure because, as you know, the cathedral was built, was a continuous process of over a couple of hundred years. And for the first time, it's been entirely cleaned up. And it's amazing. It almost looks disturbing when you enter there because you may remember a dark, almost Gothic church cathedral.

COREN: Well, we are looking now at these live pictures from France TV of the President and the group and they are now inside the cathedral. And as you say, it is spectacular as they get their color balance right. But it is light. It isn't as dark and gloomy, perhaps, as many remember.

WEIL: Yeah, I'm sure some people will find criticism of, you know, it's shockingly brand new and it looks like brand new, but if they just clean it up and they've redone also the ground. One thing that you will see is we've already started another project, which is the reconstruction or new construction around Notre Dame. We're going to make it -- we're going to transform the surroundings of Notre Dame, plant a lot of trees, make it beautiful. You can see that just the porch in front of Notre Dame was already started and it's beautiful. It's been done over the past few weeks. It looks like the inside, but with different stones and that's going to change the surroundings of Notre Dame forever. They're not going to be the same as even as they were before the fire.

COREN: Ariel, talk to us about the reconstruction.

WEIL: That's a project we showed to the public just a few days ago. Sorry.

COREN: OK. I was just going to say, talk to us about the reconstruction efforts, the craftsmen involved, the artisans, the enormous operation that it has taken to restore it to its former glory.

WEIL: Yes, it's amazing. And you've mentioned million Gift has funded the reconstruction of Notre Dame. There's been a lot of craftsmen and women. I think they were up to -- we said that recently, they were up to 600 people working on the site on some days over the past months and years. There's been, you know, guilders, stone workers, carpenters. I'm thinking all of those traditional craftsmanships that, you know, France has the secret of and has been revived. There's generations of people who will have worked on Notre Dame. And it's been an amazing effort. You've seen some people jumping from the roof and working on every aspect.

Of course, well, the promises met. I think you've said it. The President had said an objective of five years were slightly above the five-year mark. But, of course, you know, it's reopening to the public. And from that perspective, the objective has been met.

Of course, you're going to see a lot of construction work also continuing in the next few months, if not years. But, hey, you know, it's always been that way. And I think we've often heard that the cathedral was built over a couple of hundred years in the first place. So, you know, it's likely you will see some more work being done. But at least it's going to reopen to the public and to people praying.

[04:45:07]

COREN: Ariel, for our viewers just joining us, we are really getting a first glimpse inside the Notre Dame Cathedral since it was engulfed in flames five and a half years ago. The French President was there with his wife and a delegation, exploring it, really, for the first time since its reconstruction. This, of course, Ariel, it is one of the most famous landmarks, tourist attractions in Paris. But tell us what this day means to Parisians and the French.

WEIL: Yeah, you're right. It's the most famous. It's the oldest. It's also the most visited monument, you know, way before the Eiffel Tower or even the Louvre Museum, which reached 10 million visitors before the fire. And for sure in a couple of weeks now, if not days, it will be -- visitors will be back and you may reach again 14, 15 million visitors a year. So I think we've seen during the fire night how moved the entire world

was and, you know, donations, messages of support from all over the world. I actually was there on that night with the President and the mayor of Paris. And I remember once, you know, everything was over in a way, once the firemen, and I want to pay homage to the firemen, the hundreds of firemen and women that were on the site, once they won that battle and we knew that the cathedral was saved, which, you know, wasn't sure for a couple of hours. We stepped in the cathedral, in the darkness of the cathedral. It was 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. with the president. And we had to walk over the pipes and all of the debris. And it was gloomy, but we were happy it was saved.

But we saw the extent of the damage and the amount of work it would need. And to see that five years down the line, see that it's been repaired to a point where it's more beautiful than it ever was in the past, you know, maybe 100 years, is very moving. And I think that's going to be for the world, the entire world to discover. And I'm sure that people are going to flock massively to the site.

As they have actually in the past few years, we've seen a lot of tourists and people, obviously Catholic people from all over the world, just coming to see the construction site. So, obviously, once it reopens in now 10, 7 days from now, you're going to see a lot of people for sure coming, praying or just admiring, marveling at the reconstruction.

COREN: I dare say you will have many people descending on Paris. Ariel Weil will let you get down to the cathedral. Thank you so much for joining us.

WEIL: Thank you. Thank you very much.

COREN: Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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COREN: In what's regarded as a world first law, Australia has approved a social media ban for children under 16. An intense debate over the proposal gripped the nation for months. But now a trial run is set to start in January.

[04:50:10]

CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports from Tokyo.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The way kids use social media is a growing concern for millions of parents worldwide. And Australia says it now has a solution. A new law requires tech companies to take reasonable steps to block access to social media for users under 16 or face fines of up to 32 million U.S. dollars. The ban targets popular platforms among kids, including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, with the possibility of more being added to the list.

This is the world's toughest regulation to date, aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media. And the law follows a series of tragic cases where young people took their own lives because, according to their parents, they were bullied online.

At a press conference earlier on Friday, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized the need to act.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Look, the consequences I've met with parents have lost and buried their child. It's devastating. We can't, as a government, hear those messages from parents and say it's too hard.

MONTGOMERY: Now, there's significant public support for the new law. A YouGov survey released earlier this week showed that 77% of Australians support the ban. But the country's parliament has been criticized for rushing the legislation.

The bill was introduced, debated and passed within a week to meet the final parliamentary sitting of the year. Tech companies, including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, urged the government to wait for more data before pushing the law through.

Also, there's the question of how this ban will be enforced. Critics say there are no guarantees it'd work and are also concerned about potential privacy risks. Even Albanese admitted that the rollout might not be perfect. But still, he said, it's better than nothing if it's to protect children.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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COREN: Well, coming up next on CNN Newsroom.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1, 2, 3.

SANTA CLAUSES: ho-ho-ho.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Where do all the Santa Clauses go to practice their best ho-ho- ho in the time for the holidays? We'll take you to Santa School after the break.

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COREN: Well, nothing quite signals it's Thanksgiving like a giant turkey in the middle of New York. It was one of the many floats, balloons, marching bands and musical acts in this year's 98th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Minnie Mouse even made her debut as a Macy's Parade balloon.

Despite persistent rain in the Big Apple, thousands of New Yorkers and others from around the world braved the weather to attend the annual holiday tradition. Well, Americans celebrating Thanksgiving right now means Christmas is

just around the corner. So Santas are ironing their uniforms, combing their beards, preparing for a jolly holiday season by going to Santa school.

CNN's Anna Stewart shows us what it's like.

[04:55:05]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1, 2, 3.

SANTA CLAUSES: ho-ho-ho.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Some people prepare for the holidays with Christmas lights and decorations. But these Santas have a more detailed preparation ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the 2024 (inaudible).

STEWART: As you can imagine, being Father Christmas is a big feat. But at Santa school in London, they start their training months in advance. These jolly fellows are given the tools needed to be the most authentic Santa Claus.

JAMES LOVELL, CHIEF TRAINER OF SANTAS: This year, there are a lot of not very nice things going on in the world. And I think people are looking for Father Christmas to bring them a little bit of joy. People just need more jollity this year. They need more magic in their lives. That's what Santa brings.

STEWART: James Lovell has been a chief Santa trainer for over 25 years and says his bookings this year are up a merry 20%. From learning all the reindeer's names to the history of Christmas and even how to interact with your elves. These Santa students are taking notes, making sure kids and adults have the best Christmas experience.

Lovell even has a surprising rule. Don't ask kids what they want for Christmas.

LOVELL: You shouldn't actually ask them what they want for Christmas because most children have written you a letter. And if you're asking them what they want for Christmas, you're basically saying you haven't read their letter, which is rude. You read the letter and you know.

STEWART: And you can't be an authentic Santa without the perfect ho- ho-ho.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give a ho-ho-ho.

SANTA CLAUSES: Ho-ho-ho.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give a big ho-ho-ho.

SANTA CLAUSES: Ho-ho-ho LOVELL: And some people can go ho-ho-ho, but it's when you go ho-ho-ho that you find that it sounds a bit more authentic because that's what people hear on Christmas Eve when they're looking up at the sky.

STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

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COREN: Santa is definitely nailing those ho-ho-hos. That wraps up this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Anna Coren. Thank you for joining us. CNN This Morning is next.

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