The rain of a millionaire promises on the ashes of Our Lady – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

The ashes of the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral were not yet extinguished and a shower of pledges of funding, emanating both from institutions and from the country's greatest fortunes, had already attempted this Tuesday to alleviate the chaos that the French suffer for one of their most beloved monuments.

President Emmanuel Macron made it clear that shortly before midnight: "We will rebuild Our Lady together", and announced an official collection in France and abroad.

The ads came without a break. The family of Bernard Arnault, the biggest fortune of France and owner of the LVMH luxury group, said in a statement that he would make "a gift of 200 million euros the fund dedicated to the reconstruction of this architectural work that is part of the history of France ".

In addition, the LVMH Group explained that it made available to the state "all the creative, architectural and financial material necessary for the long-term work of reconstruction and fundraising".

The announcement of the Arnault and answered that of the family of François-Henri Pinault, another of the great pockets of France, that when the fire was not yet suffocated, he pledged to contribute 100 million euros via his investment company Artemis.

Perhaps to put this generous euphoria in context, the Councilor for Culture of the City of Paris, Christophe Girard, was ready to clarify that among these 300 million euros, it should discount the tax deductions that these donations would entail.

And this money, said Girard on the station "France Info", will be the one of the contributors who will bring it.

The debate on exemptions for those who want to contribute to reconstruction has already been opened. The Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, cards to declare Notre Dame as "National Treasure" guaranteeing tax reductions of over 60% for businesses and individuals.

But even that is not sure, because this qualification is normally reserved for the works which are likely to leave the French territory.

In order to command the predictable avalanche of contributions, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, proposed to convene a "International Donors Conference", which would be held at City Hall and where ideas for reconstruction would also be examined.

He also promised that the institution he will lead will contribute with some 50 million euros for jobs.

For its part, the president of the Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, also announced a donation of 10 million euros.

To all of this, we must add the amounts that citizens want to contribute from their own pocket. After Macron's call to a national collection, the Heritage Foundation badured Tuesday morning to collect 1.1 million euros.

Other microfinance initiatives have sprung up on the Internet and organizations such as the Professional Football League have already stated that they would not stay out of the collective effort.

As a European and Christian icon, Notre Dame will also count on help from abroad. The President of the European Council, the Polish Donald Tusk, has on Tuesday invited all EU Member States to contribute.

Tusk put a particular emphasis on the European dimension of the temple, so he felt that, although France can rebuild it alone, "Something more than material help is at stake".

In spite of all these announcements which are for the moment only promises and good intentions, it is to be expected that the lion's share in the financing of the works will be badumed by the French State, owner at the end of the cathedral.

The monument, the most visited of the country with 13 million inhabitants each year, belongs to the state since the law of 9 December 1905 establishing the separation between church and state.

It is up to the Ministry of Culture to take charge of all the maintenance, repair and restoration work on Notre-Dame and 86 other French cathedrals, according to the department itself on its website. .

67 other French cathedrals have different owners, either the commune in which they live, diocesan badociations or, in the case of Corsica, the regional government.