Looking up at the five huge golden domes obscuring the view to the Eiffel Tower, a pair of French tourists visiting the capital for the weekend are puzzled, even shocked.

“Wow, a mosque...here!” Marie-Christine Paquot says to her 60-year-old husband Lionel, echoing a common reaction to the site. He quickly corrects her: “It’s an Orthodox church, you can see the crosses.”

The couple from the French Alps have just discovered the new monument to Russia’s emerging role in Europe. The controversial Sainte-Trinité Russian Orthodox cathedral, set to be consecrated by the Russian Patriarch Kirill in early December, is the result of determined diplomacy by the Kremlin and lobbying of French officials, including Francois Fillon, the new favorite to win France’s 2017 presidential election.

Having established its function, the Paquots discuss the building’s merits. Marie-Christine quite likes it. Lionel is bothered. “It’s very strange to see domes in front of the Eiffel Tower,” he says.