"We can do it!" President Emmanuel Macron told France on the night of April 16, 2019, the day after the fire that ravaged Notre Dame, as he set a target of five years to rebuild the great mediaeval edifice in the heart of Paris to its former glory.

When he attends the re-opening ceremony of Notre Dame on Saturday, Macron can boast that this target has been met, dispelling the doubts of many who argued that the half decade goal was wildly ambitious.

Furthermore, he has scored a major diplomatic coup by attracting US president-elect Donald Trump to the ceremony for his first foreign trip since his election victory, along with scores of other world leaders, turning Paris into the hub of world diplomacy for the day.

The opening will cap a historic year for the French capital which this summer hosted a hugely successful Olympic Games launched by a ground-breaking and river-based opening ceremony that, although controversial, was unforgettable.

But while Macron........

© International Business Times