The bill on the renovation of Notre-Dame de Paris definitively adopted

After bitter discussions, the bill around the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris was finally adopted on Tuesday, July 16th. Three months after the burning of the religious building, the French deputies approved the bill that did not reach consensus despite the unanimous emotion of parliamentarians.

The text, approved in the National Assembly by 91 votes, with 8 votes against and 33 abstentions, intends to meet the ambition set by President Emmanuel Macron to see the building restored in five years.

Three months and a day ago, Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire.

To show us the momentum of generosity, to welcome, accompany and encourage donations, we needed this bill. #PJLOurDame pic.twitter.com/IWXACPB7GH

"The hardest is before us"

It provides for the organization and control of the collection and use of the donations that have flown, as well as the coordination of the delicate work to be carried out on this world heritage jewel.

A masterpiece of Gothic art, the cathedral of Paris was the victim on April 15 of a fire which notably destroyed its frame and its arrow. "The hardest is ahead of us, we will have to consolidate the cathedral again and again and restore it," said Minister of Culture Franck Riester.

But while almost all the opposition has reaffirmed its commitment to this almost millennial national monument, it has again denounced the use of a "useless exception law", conducted in "the haste" and establishing "inadmissible exemptions" "to the rules of heritage.

#PJLOurDame: Notre-Dame de Paris does not belong to #LREM, nor does it belong to the #LR or the President of the Republic. We can not appropriate the physiognomy of this Cathedral. That's why I decided to vote against the proposed text 1/2

A disengagement from the state ?

"To want to impose a five-year deadline from above is meaningless," said Brigitte Kuster (LR). "We must accept that the time of reconstruction is not that of politics or events," approved the Socialist Michele Victory, referring to the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

"We do not confuse speed and haste," the minister replied on several occasions, referring to "an ambitious, proactive period that allows to mobilize all the teams involved."

In "disagreement with the philosophy" of the law, the rebellious Clémentine Autain regretted "a disengagement of the state from cultural affairs in favor of private patronage" via donations.

On the other hand, Sophie Mette (MoDem) praised "the point of balance" found by the text and the UDI Beatrice Descamps appreciated taking into account an amendment from her party stating that "all donations will be exclusively devoted at Notre Dame ".

Only 10 % of pledged pledges

The text confirms the opening on April 16 of a national subscription to receive donations promised by individuals, businesses and communities, whose announced amount would exceed 850 million euros.

The minister, however, cautioned those who already mentioned surpluses: "only a little more than 10% of pledges have been made" and "the cost of the work is not yet quantified".

The bill provides an exceptional tax deduction of 75%, up to a limit of 1,000 euros for individual donors, compared to 66% in common law. A contested device including Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) for whom these tax rebates will ultimately paid by the rest of the taxpayers.

In view of the magnitude of the sums involved, control mechanisms have been planned to ensure their sound management.

Derogations from the town planning rules in question

A public administrative institution under the supervision of the Minister of Culture will be responsible for ensuring the conduct and coordination of studies and works with the assistance of a Scientific Council.

It should, according to deputies, be chaired by the former chief of the armed forces Jean-Louis Georgelin, 70 years old, already in charge of a special mission on the renovation of Notre-Dame by the executive.

But the main bone of contention between majority and opposition was the derogations to the rules of urban planning and environmental protection provided in the text to accelerate the work.

In response to criticism, the government has agreed to freeze some of them in the law, concerning "the preventive architecture", "the duration of instruction of temporary authorizations" or "the authorization of certain advertisements on tarpaulins or construction palisades ".

But others, on roads, urban planning or the environment code will be fixed by ordinances, contrary to the wish of the senators. The architectural question was also discussed, even if it is not addressed directly in the text.

Thus, some parliamentarians, worried about the expression "contemporary architectural gesture" mentioned by Emmanuel Macron about the future arrow, have unsuccessfully demanded the commitment to "a reconstruction identical" or "faithful to his" last known visual state ".

With AFP