Notre Dame: A Calamity Threatening to Be Repeated Across France | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Notre Dame: A Calamity Threatening to Be Repeated Across France | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

By New York Times |Paris |Published: April 21, 2019 1:30:18 pm

Notre Dame: A Calamity Threatening to Be Repeated Across France

France’s dazzling heritage in stone has proved both beautiful and burdensome for the state, and well beyond its means to maintain.

Notre Dame Cathedral was scarred by an extensive fire on April 15, 2019, that collapsed part of its delicate spire. As billionaires’ donations to rebuild the cathedral renewed anger over inequality, the “Yellow Vest” protests in their 23rd week drew 7,000 in the French capital. (Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times)

Even though it was one of France’s most iconic sites, Notre Dame cathedral suffered years of neglect and struggled to find the millions it needed for urgent renovations before it was ravaged by fire. But France is replete with tens of thousands of other historic monuments that are at risk. Such an inventory makes the fire at Notre Dame, though a singular catastrophe, one that could be repeated in ways large and small all over a country with a dazzling heritage that has proved well beyond the means of the state to maintain.