French opposition politicians have expressed outrage at the idea of repairs to the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris that do not faithfully reflect the largely medieval original, attacking President Emmanuel Macron’s government for raising the possibility of using modern designs or materials.
On Thursday Marine Le Pen of the extreme-right Rassemblement National took to Twitter with the capitalised hashtag #TOUCHEPASNOTREDAME (Don’t touch Notre-Dame) in an angry response to the suggestions of Edouard Philippe, the prime minister, about the reconstruction.
On Wednesday, Mr Philippe had announced an international architecture competition to replace the 19th-century spire, which caught fire along with the rest of the roof and crashed into the nave of the building during Monday’s fire.