It is undoubtedly one of the most visited and photographed monuments in Paris.

The Sacré-Coeur, on the Montmartre hill, must soon be classified as historical monuments, said Tuesday the heritage assistant, who had rejected the file because of the commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the Commune.

At the next city council, in mid-October, Parisian elected officials will vote to authorize the State to classify the famous basilica as a historic monument, the highest level of protection, Karen Taïeb indicated during a press conference.

In 2020, the heritage assistant obtained registration as a historic monument, the first level of protection, for the famous perched white stone church.

But out of 96 religious buildings belonging to the City, the Sacré-Coeur will only be the 67th to obtain its classification, indicates the town hall, while the campaign for their protection started in 2011.

The request had been deliberately postponed

“It was a will of the mayor” Anne Hidalgo to have the monument classified, underlined Karen Taïeb, but “we cannot forget the memorial part”.

It is indeed at the foot of the Sacré-Coeur, in the square Louise-Michel, that the mayor commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Commune at the beginning of 2021, a bloody insurrectionary episode which began with the capture of cannons at the site of the basilica, before it was built.

In 1873, the conservative-dominated National Assembly declared the basilica of public utility, completed in 1923 and ever since associated with the repressive “moral order” of the time.

Thus, and even if "historians show that there is no link between the creation of this basilica and the Commune, there were significant events that cannot be ruled out", explains Kren Taïeb who had made the choice to shift the classification so as not to "that the two events overlap".

Concorde fountains too

The heritage assistant has also announced for 2023 the restoration of the two 19th century fountains in the Place de Concorde, the degraded state of which is a recurring criticism of opponents of the mayor.

"Lille" and "Strasbourg", two of the eight sentry boxes dating from 1837 which surround the square and each represent a large French city, will also be restored before the 2024 Olympic Games, during which the vast square will be transformed into an ephemeral stadium to accommodate, around the obelisk, so-called urban sports competitions (BMX freestyle, breaking dance, skateboarding and three-way basketball).

Asked about saving energy, and in particular water, Ms. Taïeb said that 21 Parisian fountains out of 95 had seen their power cut since the beginning of August due to the drought.

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