Paris authorities will begin the delicate task of removing scaffolding from the collapsed spire of Notre-Dame cathedral in coming weeks after a devastating fire in April, a charity said Monday.
The 850-year-old church's spire was clad in scaffolding when it came crashing during the huge blaze on April 15.
The cathedral's roof was also destroyed in the inferno, although the vast majority of the most-sacred artefacts and valuable items inside were saved.
Shortly after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to complete a painstaking renovation of the gothic masterpiece within five years.
But that cannot begin until "essential" work takes place to secure the structure, the Notre-Dame Foundation charity said in a statement.
"One of the most complex aspects of the work at the moment is removing the scaffolding, which includes 50,000 tubes which reached over 800 degrees Celcius (1472 degrees Fahrenheit)" during the fire, charity head Christophe-Charles Rousselot told AFP.
"A ...
