Notre Dame’s imminent reopening sparks debate over admission fee

France’s culture minister and the country’s bishops’ federation (CEF) are at odds over whether tourists should pay to enter the soon-to-reopen world-famous Notre Dame cathedral.

This is written by the AFP news agency.

In the spring of 2019, Notre Dame was hit by a violent fire. Before then, the cathedral was among Europe’s most visited buildings.

The cathedral reopens its doors to visitors on December 7, and it is expected to attract 14 to 15 million people a year after its reopening.

Before the fire, visiting Notre Dame was free.

The cathedral thus differed from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, where admission costs 25 pounds, about 220 kroner, and the Italian Duomo di Milano, where non-praying guests must pay at least ten euros, equivalent to 75 kroner.

Prior to the reopening of Notre Dame, Culture Minister Rachida Dati has proposed that a ticket should cost five euros, equivalent to DKK 47.

She says that it will annually bring in 75 million euros, 560 million kroner, for the maintenance of Paris’ older buildings.

– Barely 4,000 protected religious buildings are in poor condition or even in danger, said Dati to CEF during a meeting on Monday.

However, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, who is chairman of the CEF, believes that an entrance fee would be a “failure” of the church’s function.

He says that churches and cathedrals “have always been places which are open to all”.

The Culture Minister acknowledges that her proposal to charge Notre Dame visitors has “sparked debate”.

I have no intention of commercializing our religious heritage, she adds.

Notre Dame reopens after five years of renovation, which has cost almost 700 million euros – 5.2 billion kroner – and required hundreds of craftsmen.

On Monday, a prelate in the Landes region blessed the new chairs and pews, which will be shipped to Paris to be placed in the cathedral. The blessing was done with holy water.

Prelate is a designation for high-ranking persons in the Catholic Church.

The fire broke out in Notre Dame on the evening of April 15, 2019. It was extinguished the next day. It is believed that the fire was caused by a cross or a glow from a cigarette of one of the workers who were renovating the cathedral.

/ritzau/