French want Notre-Dame rebuilt as it was: survey

A narrow majority of French people want the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral to be rebuilt exactly as it was, a survey said Tuesday.

As the French government prepares to push through legislation that aims to reconstruct the famous Paris landmark within five years, the poll showed that 54 percent of French people want it restored to just as it was before the devastating fire on April 15.

Only a quarter support the idea that the rebuilding should include a modern "architectural gesture" championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, while a further 21 per cent of those surveyed by YouGov for two French media outlets had no opinion.

France has launched an international architectural competition for the reconstruction of the cathedral's 19th-century spire, which collapsed into the nave during the inferno.

But Macron's insistence on a speedy restoration of the gothic masterpiece has raised the hackles of conservationists.

More than 1,100 French architects and heritage experts signed a ...