France: 'It has sentimental value for us' - Parisians respond as Notre Dame work resumes

M/S Cathedral of Notre Dame as restoration works resume in Paris
M/S Construction workers on roof
M/S Construction workers on roof
C/U Sign
SOT, Sabine, French citizen (French): "The whole world looked, turned its eyes towards the Cathedral of Notre Dame and for once our politicians recognized the Christian roots of France and Paris, and when we realised that, it was heart warming."
M/S Cathedral
M/S Cathedral with crane behind
M/S Cathedral
SOT, Gerard, Parisian citizen (French): "At the time of the fire I felt a big wound, almost a big sorrow, it was impressive, now I'm waiting for it to be rebuilt, but anyway it will have been damaged compared to what I had known when I was a child."
M/S Cathedral
SOT, Jaqueline, French citizen (French): "It's a big sorrow, and I'm here to look and see where we are with the evolution of construction, because it's sad anyway, it's only stone but it has sentimental value for us."
M/S People in Notre Dame area
W/S Cathedral of Notre Dame
SCRIPT
Workers returned to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday, as efforts resumed to clear out hazardous debris and to secure the building ahead of restoration works.
"At the time of the fire I felt a big wound, almost a big sorrow, it was impressive, now I'm waiting for it to be rebuilt, but anyway it will have been damaged compared to what I had known when I was a child," said one local.
The works were halted in July after an inspection raised fears of workers and local residents potentially being exposed to dangerous levels of lead.
Tonnes of lead from the roof of the cathedral and its steeple melted in the blaze on April 15, 2019, and particulates of the poisonous metal are thought to have been spread across a wide area by the fire's smoke. Lead poisoning can be lethal with even small amounts capable of severely impacting health as well as the mental and physical development of children.