Only two days after the beginning of the devastating fire in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, donations for its restoration amounted to about € 1 billion. Such an assessment was given by journalist Stefan Bern, who since 2017 has been working on the preservation of objects of historical heritage of France. The main flow of funds comes from large French companies and businessmen, as well as from individuals.
Currently, the largest donors are the LVMH group of companies led by Bernard Arnaud, who expressed willingness to allocate € 200 million, the L'Oréal company of the Bettankur family (€ 200 million), the Artémis group of the Pino family (€ 100 million) and the oil and gas giant Total (€ 100 million). Even more than € 300 million come from private donations through several public funds on a special website, the opening of which was announced the day before by French Culture Minister Frank Riester.
The cost of reconstruction of one of the most famous Gothic temples in Europe, which was seriously affected by the 12-hour fire, has yet to be established by the government and expert commission. However, according to a prominent French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the required amount could be just about € 1 billion. He also admitted that Notre Dame could be restored within a five-year period - the President outlined this task in his address to the nation on April 16 Fifth Republic Emmanuel Macron.
At the same time, the architect stated that in order to implement such a complex project in such a short time it would be necessary to move away from the original technologies that were once used in the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris. So, it would take many years only to dry the oak wood to the required condition. Also raises questions about the feasibility of using in the reconstruction of both the actual heavy wood and lead, the structures of which were burned out and collapsed during a fire.
Instead, Wilmotte on air France Inter offered to use modern technologies and materials while fully preserving the exterior style of the cathedral and respect for Notre Dame. In particular, we are talking about replacing the lead of the old roof on a much lighter and more durable titanium.
“This is common sense. The building was damaged, the stone suffered. This should be taken into account, ”the architect stated.
A similar point of view is shared by another French architect, Dominique Perrot, according to whom each century left its mark on the cathedral, which he called "the heart of the heart of Paris." However, other experts and experts advocate a historically fully reliable reconstruction of the cathedral.
Following the April 17 special meeting of the Council of Ministers of France dedicated to the fire in Notre Dame, the head of the Cabinet Edouard Philip said that the authorities of the Fifth Republic are organizing an international competition among architects to restore the collapsed spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Earlier, a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Donald Trump, declared their readiness to provide all the necessary support to France for the restoration of the temple. In particular, Putin proposed to send to Paris the best Russian specialists with extensive experience in the restoration of monuments of world cultural heritage, including works of medieval architecture.
Against this background, the investigation into the circumstances of the fire that arose on the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral continues. According to the original version, a fire arose on building structures around the spire of Notre Dame and then spread to the temple itself. However, Le Bras Frères, which conducted the work, excluded “any responsibility” for the incident, stating that the necessary procedures and security measures were fully observed.
"When you leave the construction site, you must turn off all the electricity, the switch, lock the door and return the keys to the sacristy of the cathedral, which was done and properly documented," the company representative quotes RT France.
He also said that the last worker on Monday, April 15, left the construction site at 17:50 local time (18:50 Moscow time), that is, about an hour before the start of the fire.
Investigators interrogated the specialists who worked on the restoration of Notre Dame, after which among the possible causes of the fire a version of a short circuit appeared. A source of the newspaper Le Parisien, who was familiar with the course of the investigation, said that the investigators raised questions about the “lifting mechanisms” that were used during the work.
It also turns out that for some reason the fire alarm in the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral triggered twice - first half an hour before the incident, at 18:20 local time, and then at 18:50. And after the first alarm was turned on, the staff of Notre Dame evacuated visitors to the cathedral, however, the temple workers did not find any fire or smoke after the first siren (including in the upper part).
However, the French Interior Ministry is not considering the version according to which arson, not an accident, was the cause of the fire. The head of the ministry, Christoph Castaner, called on French politicians to refrain from commenting in this vein.