Tuesday, March 19, 2024

People have donated over $1 billion to rebuild the Notre Dame cathedral

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Within two days of the horrific fire that consumed a portion of Paris’ historic Notre Dame cathedral, donations have poured in from billionaires, companies, and individuals who want to see the building restored to its former glory.

Firefighters were able to put out the blaze after 9 hours of battling it, leaving the cathedral heavily damaged.

See also: A massive fire is currently consuming Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral (VIDEOS)

The Notre Dame was first constructed in 1345 and withstood centuries before its spire and roof were destroyed by Monday night’s fire. Both parts of the building were undergoing renovations when the fire broke out.

Since then, French president Emmanuel Macron has set a 5-year deadline to complete the restoration of the cathedral – a project which will be partly funded by donations from the public.

€100 million (CAD $173.9 million) has been pledged by French companies Total and L’Oreal, while the billionaire owners of LVMH Group, Kering and L’Oreal have pledged a combined total of €500 million (CAD $869.9 million).

Millions more have been donated by wealthy individuals and corporations, bringing the total to over $1.5 billion as of the time of publication.

Audiences following the story are torn between critics who say the money would be more useful if it were spent elsewhere, and those who wish to see the restoration of the Notre Dame’s iconic architecture taking place as soon as possible.

Reports say that investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire but officials do not suspect terrorism or arson.

Here are some images of the aftermath of the blaze

Posted by Jean-Philippe Le Trévou on Tuesday, April 16, 2019

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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