Four Ancient French Oaks Felled to Restore Notre-Dame Cathedral

Four French oaks that have been standing for hundreds of years in a once-royal forest now have a sacred destiny. Felled Tuesday in the Loire region’s Forest of Berce, they have been selected to reconstruct Notre-Dame Cathedral’s fallen spire in Paris. Some 1,000 oaks in more than 200 French forests, both private and public, were chosen to make the frame of the cathedral transept and spire — destined to be admired on the Paris skyline.