Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral is slowly regaining its iconic visage, after nearly five years of reconstruction work following a massive fire that heavily damaged its roof and lead its spire to crumble.

On April 15, 2019, a major fire broke out in Notre-Dame. The flames ravaged the monument's roof structure and then spread, destroying the spire, the nave and transept roofs and their wooden frameworks.

The scaffolding that has surrounded much of the cathedral's facade has started to be removed little by little, and a new spire is already visible, as Paris is set to mark the fifth anniversary of the blaze on Monday. 

Not part of the original design of the cathedral - which was built over nearly 200 years starting in the middle of the 12th century - the 96 meter-high spire, was added during a 19th century restoration by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

Some 500 workers are present on the site every day, racing to rebuild the cathedral, Europe's most visited monument before the fire, which has dominated the Ile de la Cite island on the River Seine since the Middle Ages.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the restoration work is on schedule, with the cathedral slated to reopen to the public on December 8, 2024.

(Production: Lucien Libert, Clotaire Achi, Manuel Ausloos, Ardee Napolitano)