PARIS: France’s culture minister, Rachida Dati, has proposed introducing an entrance fee to visit Notre Dame cathedral when it reopens in December, aiming to raise funds for the preservation of the nation’s religious heritage.
The iconic cathedral is set to open its lofty doors again five years after it was ravaged by fire.
The storied interiors, with their soaring ceiling, intricate stained-glass windows and world-class organ, are set to welcome visitors once more — five years after the catastrophic fire in April 2019. Dati’s plan would charge tourists 5 euros ($4.16), which could generate 75 million euros ($62.41 million) annually to help restore France’s crumbling religious buildings. Dati believes Notre Dame could serve as a model for the country’s preservation efforts.
“Across Europe, visitors pay to access the most remarkable religious sites. With 5 euros per visitor at Notre Dame, we could save churches all over France. It would be a beautiful symbol,” Dati said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper published Wednesday evening.
The funds are desperately needed. France is home to approximately 42,000 Catholic churches, many of which are in a state of disrepair. Experts estimate that one religious building is lost every two weeks due to neglect, fire or vandalism.
The French government has launched several campaigns to combat this crisis, including the (asterisk)Loto du patrimoine(asterisk), which funds restoration efforts. In 2022 alone, the Interior Ministry spent 57 million euros on religious heritage, and over the past five years 280 million euros have gone toward restoring over 8,000 sites. Yet many rural churches remain at risk.
Notre Dame’s reopening is particularly poignant. It once stood as one of the world’s most-visited monuments, attracting 12 to 14 million visitors each year.
Dati’s proposals have garnered support, with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau saying: “If 5 euros can save our religious heritage, it’s worth it — whether you’re a believer or not.”
Dati said on social platform X that the entrance fee would apply to cultural visitors, not those attending mass or other religious services.
“Religious services must remain free, but every cultural visitor should contribute to preserving our heritage,” she said.
Prior to the fire, Notre Dame’s iconic towers had already charged an entry fee. Visitors paid 8.50 euros to climb the 387 steps and gain access to a panoramic view of Paris and a close-up of the cathedral’s famous gargoyles.
French culture minister proposes entrance fee for Notre Dame to help fund preservation work
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French culture minister proposes entrance fee for Notre Dame to help fund preservation work
- The iconic cathedral is set to open its lofty doors again five years after it was ravaged by fire
- “Across Europe, visitors pay to access the most remarkable religious sites. With 5 euros per visitor at Notre Dame, we could save churches all over France,” Dati said
26 Doctors without Borders workers remain unaccounted for in South Sudan a month after attacks
- A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said
- “We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity”
NAIROBI: More than two dozen Doctors Without Borders workers remain unaccounted for a month after attacks in South Sudan, the medical charity said.
Two facilities belonging to the group, known by French acronym MSF, were attacked on Feb. 3 in Jonglei State, northeast of the capital, Juba, where violence has displaced an estimated 280,000 people since December.
A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said, while another medical facility in the town of Pieri was raided by “unknown assailants.” Both were located in opposition-held areas.
Staff working at the two facilities fled alongside much of the local population into deeply rural areas where armed clashes and aerial bombardments were ongoing.
MSF said in a statement on Monday that “26 of 291 of our colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri remain unaccounted for.
“We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity,” it said.
The lack of communication with its staff could be linked to the limited network connectivity in much of the state. Staff members who had been contacted described “destruction, violence and extreme hardships.”
Fighting escalated sharply in December, when opposition forces captured a string of government outposts in north central Jonglei. In January, the government responded with a counteroffensive that recaptured most of the area it had lost.
Displaced people in Akobo, an opposition-held town near the Ethiopian border, described horrific violence by government fighters. Many described not being able to find food or water as they walked for days to reach safety.
The attacks on MSF facilities in Lankien and Pieri are part of an uptick in violence on humanitarian staff, supplies and infrastructure, aid groups say. MSF facilities have been attacked 10 times in the last 12 months.
“This violence has taken an unbearable toll not only on health care services, but on the very people who kept them running,” said Yashovardhan, MSF head of mission in South Sudan, who only uses one name.
“Medical workers must never be targets,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about what has happened to our colleagues and the communities we serve.”
