Rachida Dati wants to charge for entry to Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral to “save the churches of France”

What if this was the solution for “ [sauver] all the churches in France”? In an interview with Le Figaro published this Wednesday, Rachida Dati proposed charging for entry to the Notre-Dame de Paris church when it reopens on December 8, 2024. This symbolic price – the Minister of Culture mentions 5 euros – would allow the State to collect “75 million euros” in order to ensure the proper maintenance of religious heritage in France.

“Everywhere in Europe, access to the most remarkable religious buildings requires a fee. I proposed to the Archbishop of Paris a simple idea: set up a symbolic price for all tourist visits to Notre-Dame and devote this money entirely to a major plan to safeguard religious heritage,” she explains. to our colleagues.

“With just 5 euros per visitor, we would collect 75 million euros per year. Thus, Notre-Dame de Paris would save all the churches of Paris and France,” adds Rachida Dati, believing that “it would be a magnificent symbol. »

Dati in favor of a specific price for non-EU visitors

The Minister of Culture also announces to our colleagues at Le Figaro that she wants “visitors from outside the EU to pay more for their entry tickets” to French monuments and museums. “Is it, for example, normal for a French visitor to pay the same price for entry to the Louvre as a Brazilian or Chinese visitor? », she asks, judging that the “French are not intended to pay for everything, on their own”.

In general, the Minister of Culture believes that “heritage emergencies are increasing” in France and deplores Parisian heritage being “under protected”. “It’s not just me who says it, it’s UNESCO, with which we have commitments to keep by the end of 2026,” argues Rachida Dati, calling on the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, of whom she aims to take the place, to “put aside” his affects to ensure the conservation of Parisian monuments.

“I proposed that the Eiffel Tower be classified as a Historic Monument, and, until then, Anne Hidalgo has refused, for irrational reasons,” she told Le Figaro. The two figures of the Paris Municipal Council are in fact arguing over this subject, the councilor judging that the Parisian monument, already classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, is sufficiently well managed by the City and its operating company, and that it should not relax state budgets, which change from one year to the next.