France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre Dame cathedral, just over a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire.

President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the "impossible" by healing a "national wound" after the fire on April 19, 2019.

While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor.