More than 1,000 international architectural experts have urged President Emmanuel Macron to drop his “unrealistic” insistence on rebuilding Notre-Dame within five years after a huge fire destroyed its roof and spire.

Some 1,170 leading academics and architects from France, Britain, the United States and other countries signed an open letter in Le Figaro newspaper on Monday pleading for the French government to allow time to decide how to tackle the restoration.

Rushing ahead with a plan that could prove ill-conceived would be disastrous, they warned.

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“We know that the political calendar requires quick action, we know how much a disfigured Notre-Dame affects the image of France,” the letter says. “[But] the challenge of these works goes far beyond political terms of office, beyond generations, and we will be judged by how we respond.”

The letter emphasises the enormous cultural importance of the cathedral in the heart of Paris, not just to France but across the globe. “The whole world watched as Notre-Dame was engulfed by flames,” it points out.

Debate: Should Notre-Dame be rebuilt in the mould of the original or reimagined for the modern age?

Critics say Mr Macron’s five-year deadline is partly motivated by his wish for the cathedral to be rebuilt in time for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and for progress to be visible before his term of office ends in 2022. But many architects say the time-frame is unrealistic.

The letter says: “We, academics, researchers, heritage professionals, from France and elsewhere, are now coming to you, Monsieur le Président, to ask, as Jean Nouvel [the French architect] put it so well, that ‘historians and experts be given time for diagnosis before [you] take a decision on the future of the monument’.”

Philippe Plagnieux, a professor of art history, said: “The risk is that people who haven’t got enough experience in restoring historic monuments will be called in to get the job done quickly.”

Notre-Dame fire: The iconic Paris Cathedral pictured throughout history

Alexandre Gady, a Sorbonne professor who signed the letter, criticised the government’s plan to launch an international architectural competition to redesign the roofline of the cathedral. “This has naturally allowed all sorts of architects pining for fame to blow their own trumpets off the back of the cathedral,” he said.

Investigators believe the catastrophic fire on April 15 was started accidentally, possibly by an electrical short circuit. They have been questioning cathedral staff and workers who were carrying out renovations.

The authorities have warned people living near Notre-Dame to clean their homes thoroughly to remove lead-laden dust from the blaze. Tests have shown that smoke carried particles of the toxic metal from the frame and spire.