00:00Did the Pope really snurb Emmanuel Macron over Notre Dame's windows?
00:09Emmanuel Macron went viral last week for the iconic sunglasses he wore
00:14at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
00:16But the French President was also subject to viral claims of a different kind.
00:20This post, OnX and many like it, claimed that Pope Leo cancelled a meeting
00:25that he was due to have with Macron in early January
00:28over his disapproval of the Notre Dame Cathedral's new stained glass windows.
00:33The Pope will allegedly remove the Archbishop of Paris from his seat
00:37because Notre Dame is the property of God rather than the state
00:40and says the atmosphere between France and the Vatican has become detestable and unhealthy.
00:45All this might sound dramatic, perhaps overly so, and that's because none of it is true.
00:51France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs clearly rejected the claims on X,
00:55stating that the meeting is still being arranged.
00:58In a tongue-in-cheek response, it's said that aligning the Pope and the President's agendas
01:03remains one of the greatest mysteries and that they'd get a nice photo out of it when it does happen.
01:08The Vatican has said more or less the same thing, explaining that efforts to schedule a meeting are ongoing
01:14and that none of the issues raised online are the reason.
01:17Notre Dame's new stained glass windows have been the subject of controversy, though,
01:21following the 2019 fire that destroyed much of the iconic cathedral,
01:25new windows were proposed as part of restoration efforts.
01:28Supporters say that the new designs represent Notre Dame's rebirth
01:32and reference traditional biblical stories in a contemporary style.
01:36Critics, however, argue that the windows clash with its historical character,
01:40denounce potential political influence by Macron,
01:43and claim that the windows don't need replacing as the original survived the fire.
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