Notre-Dame fire: Has too much money been given to rebuild it?

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Notre-Dame fire: Has too much money been given to rebuild it?

By Alice Cuddy & Bruno Boelpaep
BBC News

25 April 2019

Since the fire that tore through Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris last week, donations have been pouring in from across the world to restore the structure to its former glory.

Ordinary people and billionaires have pledged at least €750m (£650m; $835m) in the 10 days after the main spire and roof of the building collapsed in a huge fire on 15 April.

One early estimate by French construction economists suggests that the donations may far surpass the cost of repairs.

Amid the wave of goodwill and generosity, critics have argued that the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

But those collecting money for the repairs are urging people to keep donating, saying a price cannot yet be put on the work.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48039770

[msongs]

1. turn it into a shopping mall - whole foods on ground floor, disco on second floor nt

[delisen]

2. French to have big street party with excess?

I think they would put any excess to other preservation needs.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. They might want to keep it and invest it so they have a long-term maintenance fund.

The building was already in a state of disrepair because they couldn't afford to make repairs as needed - whoever was in charge of the place didn't want to charge admission to visitors, as with a lot of important historic buildings, so things were steadily deteriorating. If they're going to spend big bucks to rebuild it they should have funds on hand to keep maintaining it.

[MyOwnPeace]

4. Judas at 1:10....................

"Amid the wave of goodwill and generosity, critics have argued that the money could have been better spent elsewhere."


Jesus Christ, Superstar:

&list=RDpqoeM18vCaU&index=5

[MineralMan]

5. I don't know, really. It's a symbol of something.

It looks like the fundraising will reach $1 Billion soon enough. That's a lot of money. On the other hand, we have a brand new stadium here in Minneapolis for an NFL team that has never even won a Super Bowl. It cost about $1 billion to build. It's a temple to professional sports. On the 8 or 9 Sundays an NFL game is played in that stadium each year, tens of thousands of people will pay at least $100 to watch a single football game. Now, I don't know how many people will fit inside Notre Dame, but it's nothing like that high.

Is a Roman Catholic Cathedral as valuable, in terms of money, as a sports stadium that is used for that sport a few times a year? I don't know, to tell you the truth. $1 billion is a lot of money. Distributed to each of the victims of child sexual abuse by priests, it might help those victims heal from their abuse, with the help of professional counselors. To replace the roof of a house of worship, I'm not sure it's money well-spent, really.

But, it's not for me to say. I won't be donating to that cause. I am forced to donate to the NFL Stadium here in Minnesota, since half of its cost was paid for by taxpayers in one way or another. I had no choice. I have a choice in the case of Notre Dame cathedral. I'll not be participating in its repairs. I'd rather not participate in funding a professional sports stadium, either.

Notre Dame's roof will get replaced, no doubt. Will the Minnesota Vikings ever win the Super Bowl? Only God knows, I guess, and that deity's not telling - or can't, due to non-existence.