Barrage of donations to restore Notre Dame cathedral

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In the last hours there is no talk of anything else in Paris. The fire that was about to destroy Notre Dame Cathedral has saddened the French and everyone who has had the opportunity to visit this Gothic marvel that began to be built in 1163.

Two thirds of the ceiling has been destroyed, while the central spire fell and the rose windows suffered significant damage. At first it was feared that it would end up completely destroyed, but luckily the firefighters were able to save the structure by controlling the fire in a matter of hours. That is why we can already start talking about its reconstruction .

Private donations multiply

As expected, the Paris City Council was one of the first to make a move. It has announced that it will immediately unlock 50 million euros. In addition, there are also American organizations such as the French Heritage Society, based in New York, which have started raising funds at a very good pace.

François-Henri Pinault , a billionaire who heads Artemis and the Kering group (which includes luxury brands such as Saint Laurent, Gucci or Alexander McQueen), has come to the fore to declare that they are going to donate 100 million euros with the to finance some of the works to be carried out in the cathedral:

This tragedy affects all French people and goes far beyond those who feel linked to it by spiritual values. Faced with such a drama, each one wishes to give a new impetus as quickly as possible to this jewel of our heritage.

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The cosmetic group L’OrĂ©al and the Bettencourts have also joined the cause by promising 200 million euros in donations, which is the same amount that will be donated by the Louis Vuitton MoĂ«t Hennessy (LVMH) group of Bernard Arnault, who not only wants to put money on the table, but also wants to make available to the authorities its "creative, architectural, financial teams to help the long work of reconstruction on the one hand, and the fundraising of the other, which is announced."

The French oil company Total, through Patrick Pouyanné (CEO of the company) has promised via Twitter 100 million euros in donations, while other important companies such as Société Générale, JC Decaux or Apple speak of figures that oscillate between a million and 20 million euros.

Obviously, donations from Parisians will also be accepted to start up as soon as possible a multimillion-dollar restoration that the French consider to be a priority.

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