Jacques Brinon / AP

A window cleaner works on the glass pyramid of the Louvre museum in Paris, on Tuesday.

Philippe Roesch / Visual Forensic via AFP - Getty Images

A computer generated image shows a reconstruction of the head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) made after a panel of forensic scientists identified the skull of the king who was murdered at the age of 57 on May 14, 1610, by a fanatic.

Bellet-gabet / Bellet / Galaxy Press via AFP - Getty Images

The mummified head of French King Henri IV.

Scientists revealed the reconstructed head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) during a press conference in Paris on Tuesday. This reconstruction was made three years after a panel of forensic scientists identified the skull of the king, who was murdered by a fanatic, at the age of 57 on May 14, 1610.

Scientists headed by France's Philippe Charlier found a common genetic profile between the mummified head of Henri IV and dried blood from his descendant, Louis XVI.  

-- AFP - Getty Images

Related: King Richard III's face revealed after 500 years

Loic Venance / AFP - Getty Images

The skull of French King Henri IV and, at right, its reconstruction, appear on a screen during a press conference in Paris on Feb. 12.

Yoan Valat / EPA

Florence Cassez embraces her mother Charlotte Cassez, as French Minister for Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius looks on, upon her arrival in Paris on Jan. 24.

Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP - Getty Images file

French national Florence Cassez listens to her lawyer behind bars on Jan. 22, 2008 in Mexico City. Mexico's Supreme Court ordered yesterday, the immediate release of Cassez serving 60 years in prison for kidnapping, ruling that authorities had violated her legal rights.

Mexico's Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of Florence Cassez, a 38-year-old French woman who had been sentenced to 60 years in jail for kidnapping and other crimes. The court ended the seven-year Mexican prison ordeal by ruling yesterday that there were serious irregularities in the way the case was handled, including a failure to grant Cassez due process.

Reuters reported, Charlotte Cassez, her mother, told French television, "It's an explosion of joy. It's wonderful."

"It's not far from being the best day of my life. We've been waiting for so long," she said after hearing about her daughter's release. "She deserves it. She is innocent and has fought to prove that. It's a victory for her." Continue reading article.

-- Reuters, European Pressphotos Agency

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

Soldiers patrol under the Eiffel Tower on Jan. 14 in Paris. Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed Monday to avenge France's fierce military offensive against them on French soil.

Reuters

A French Rafale fighter jet lands in Ndjamena, Chad, before being deployed in Mali, in this picture provided by the French military and taken on Jan. 13.

"France has opened the gates of hell for all the French," a spokesman for Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali told Europe 1 radio. "She has fallen into a trap which is much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia."

Concerned about reprisals at home, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport following four days of French air strikes on the rebels' northern strongholds. Read Story

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Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

French army soldiers patrol Gare du Nord station in Paris on Jan. 14. France has ordered tightened security in public buildings and transport following action against radical Islamists both in Mali and Somalia.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Influx of foreign fighters threatens stability of Mali
• For Mali refugees, struggle to get by is biggest battle
• Thousands seek refuge from violence in Mali

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Yoan Valat / EPA

Priests celebrate Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary in Paris, Dec. 12, 2012.

Patrick Kovarick / AFP - Getty Images

Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois leads a Pontifical Mass during Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary in Paris, Dec. 12.

Associated Press reports — Dignitaries, tourists and Parisians gathered in the thousands Wednesday for a ceremony and Mass marking the beginning of year-long commemoration of Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary.

The 12th-century Gothic cathedral looming over the heart of the French capital will get a set of new bells in February, one of the highlights of a year's worth of planned events including seminars, concerts of sacred music and the issuance of commemorative stamps.

Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe are among the civil and religious dignitaries taking part in Wednesday evening events marking the beginning of the cathedral's construction in 1163.

After the Mass, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls spoke in front of the huge wooden doors of the cathedral's Portal of the Last Judgment.

Noting that the cathedral had survived the reigns of "80 kings, two emperors and five republics," Valls said the cathedral's 850th anniversary "is moving for all who see in its towers the image of France in all its greatness."

Each year the cathedral sees 14 million visitors. Five Masses a day are held during the week, and seven on Sunday. The structure took nearly 90 years to build.

Yoan Valat / EPA

Priests take part in Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary ceremony in Paris, Dec. 12.

Yoan Valat / EPA

Priests celebrate Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary ceremony in Paris, Dec. 12.

Related Articles:

• New Bells with old sounds set to ring in Notre Dame’s 850^th anniversary
• Parisians dress for ‘white dinner at Notre Dame

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Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

Franck Bonnet uses a thermoforming technique on a pair of tortoiseshell frames in Maison Bonnet's Paris workshop.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

An apprentice prepares a pair of tortoiseshell frames, looking at the turtle-shell's shades at Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

A pair of tortoiseshell frames and its fact sheet containing the information of the future owner is found in Maison Bonnet's Paris workshop.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

Christian Bonnet and his apprentice Daniel work on pairs of tortoiseshell frames in the Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

A Maison Bonnet workshop employee works on a pair of tortoiseshell frames.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

Franck Bonnet, adjusts a pair of spectacles on a customer in Maison Bonnet's Paris shop.

Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

A pair of $39,000 tortoiseshell spectacles, called pure blond, made by Christian Bonnet in Maison Bonnet's Paris workshop.

Four decades after the trade in tortoiseshell was banned under the 1973 CITES convention, the fourth-generation family firm, Maison Bonnet, sees itself as custodian of a rare craft, fashioning made-to-measure spectacles from stocks amassed before the ban.

Frames made by these artisans isn't an easy or an inexpensive process. Depending on the material, frames from Maison Bonnet can cost hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars and require a series of interviews and fittings.

The purchase of each pair of glasses is the result of a three-month operation, involving 20 hours of hand labor, and a process that includes 10 stages, 12 fittings, interviews, personality assessments and face measurements. Continuing reading NYTimes.com article.

Photos in this blog post were shot by AFP's Joel Saget in November, but made available to NBC News today.

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Charles Platiau / Reuters

A craftsman covers the cope of a bell mold made from clay, horse-dung and horse-hair, as he works to produce bronze bells ordered at the French foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy on Oct. 17.

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Stephane Mouton cleans and inspects the bronze bell 'Maurice' after removing the mold at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Craftsman Stephane Mouton cleans and inspects the bronze bell 'Maurice' after removing the mold at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Craftsman Stephane Mouton looks at 'Maurice', a bronze bell which is lifted from the pit at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Bronze bells are seen in the courtyard of the French bell foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy.

French bell foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy was chosen to design and cast eight replacement bronze bells for the north tower of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, set to be finished in time to ring for the 850th anniversary of the cathedral next year.

The new bells will have the same weight and diameter as the ones from the 18th-century that were melted down and turned into cannons during the French Revolution. They will be designed to recreate the centuries old sound by using the same medieval forging methods.

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