France yesterday prepared to throw open the doors of the capital's Notre Dame cathedral after a half-decade closure, in a ceremony attended by dozens of world leaders celebrating the rebirth of the Paris landmark ravaged by a devastating fire.

Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by President Emmanuel Macron, Notre Dame's renaissance so soon after a 2019 blaze that destroyed its roof and spire comes at a difficult time for the country.

The re-opening will officially take place when archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich opens the doors to the cathedral at 1800 GMT, by knocking three times, to herald the start of the almost two-hour ceremony.

Macron has scored a major coup by attracting US president-elect Donald Trump, on his first foreign trip since his election, for the ceremony along with some 40 other leaders.

It is "a cathedral like we have never seen before," Philippe Jost, the head of the restoration project, told Franceinfo radio, saying he was proud to "show the whole world" a "great collective success and a source of pride for all of France".