French billionaires pledge $339 million to help rebuild Notre Dame - CNN

LVMH Group (LVMHF), which owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy, said Tuesday that the company, along with the family of CEO Bernard Arnault, would put up €200 million ($226 million).

The company said in a statement that the donation showed "solidarity with this national tragedy" and that funds would be used to rebuild this "extraordinary cathedral" and symbol of French heritage and unity.

LVMH will also make its creative and financial teams available to help with rebuilding and soliciting donations.

The family of François Pinault, which controls brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has pledged an additional €100 million ($113 million).

Pinault's son, François-Henri Pinault, who is president of the Artemis Group holding company, called the massive blaze at Notre Dame a tragedy.

"This tragedy is striking all the French people, and beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values," he said in a statement.

"Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as possible," he added.

The blaze at Notre Dame on Monday devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church, including its iconic spire. The fire was extinguished after nine hours.

French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to rebuild the site, saying Monday that France will launch an international fundraising campaign to assist with the effort.

Early pledges from some of the richest families in the world could help.

Arnault is the third richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth comes in at $90.4 billion, more than that of Warren Buffett or Mark Zuckerberg.

The Pinault family is worth an estimated $37.3 billion, per Bloomberg. François-Henri Pinault, who manages the family's businesses, is married to actress Salma Hayek.

— CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed reporting.

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2019-04-16 08:55:00Z
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French President reacts to Notre Dame cathedral fire: 'We will rebuild it' - ABC News

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gCWPEQiwI

2019-04-16 08:13:27Z
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Notre-Dame Will Be Rebuilt, Macron Says, as Fire Investigation Begins - The New York Times

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron of France has vowed that Notre-Dame cathedral will be rebuilt, as prosecutors begin investigating what caused a fire that badly damaged the 850-year-old symbol of Paris and caused its thin spire to collapse in smoke and flames.

Mr. Macron said an international effort to raise funds for reconstruction would begin Tuesday.

“We will rebuild Notre-Dame,” he said as he visited the site on Monday night. “Because that is what the French expect.”

The billionaire Pinault family of France has already pledged 100 million euros, or $113 million, to the effort, and the family of Bernard Arnault, owners of the luxury goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, plan to contribute 200 million euros, Agence-France Presse reported.

How the Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire Spread

Imagery shows how the fire tore through the cathedral’s wooden roof and toppled its 300-foot spire.

Notre-Dame, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries on the foundations of an earlier church and Roman ramparts on an island in the Seine, is a globally recognized symbol of France, visited by about 13 million people a year.

Stunned Paris residents and visitors watched as the cathedral, with its famous flying buttresses built to support the relatively thin and tall walls of its era, burned six days before Easter Sunday services were to be held.

[As a French landmark went up in flames, the symbolism for the troubled country was hard to miss, our architecture critic writes.]

Officials released new details of the fire late Monday, with the Paris fire chief, Jean-Claude Gallet, saying it started in the attic at 6:30 p.m. More than nine hours later, the authorities said the fire was “under control,” but that a hole in the timber roof left by the cathedral’s fallen spire continued burning into Tuesday morning.

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The fire started in the attic at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. More than nine hours later, officials said it was “under control.”CreditFrancois Mori/Associated Press

The cathedral’s rector, Msgr. Patrick Chauvet, said the fire appeared to have started in an interior network of wooden beams, many dating to the Middle Ages and nicknamed “the forest.”

In addition to damaging the building itself, the fire tore through the cathedral’s roof, and put at risk its relics and stained-glass windows, with panes held together by lead that melts at high temperatures. While one treasure, a relic of the crown of thorns said to have been worn by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion, was saved, the status of other historic items is unclear.

[The blaze threatened the cathedral’s vast collection of Christian art and relics.]

The architect who oversaw work on the cathedral in the 1980s and 1990s said he believed much of the building and its furnishings could be saved. “The stone vaulting acted like a firewall and it kept the worst heat away,” said the architect, Bernard Fonquernie.

But the roof, a vast wooden framework covered with sheets of lead, appeared to be largely gone, he said. Earlier tests on the roof showed that the wooden frame was for the most part the same oak and chestnut structure constructed by the very first builders, Mr. Fonquernie said.

Google Earth; Ian Langsdon/EPA, via Shutterstock

By The New York Times

It lasted so long because the roof was regularly repaired and watertight. But that meant the wood beneath was very dry and could burn easily, he said.

Officials said they did not yet know what had caused the fire, which is now under investigation. Two police officers and one firefighter were slightly injured, but no one was killed, officials said.

[Here’s what we know and don’t know about the fire.]

Two years ago, a spokesman for the cathedral said it was badly in need of an extensive makeover estimated to cost nearly $180 million. Much of the limestone exterior was eroded, with pieces dislodged by the wind, said the spokesman, André Finot.

The cathedral is covered in scaffolding while undergoing restoration work, which fire experts said can expose aging houses of worship to risky open flames or sparks from equipment.

“And now it’s gone, perhaps due to carelessness,” Mr. Fonquernie said. “Working with heat, as they did, next to so much old dry wood requires extreme care.”

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The cathedral on Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is still unknown.CreditZakaria Abdelkafi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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2019-04-16 07:18:45Z
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Fire at Notre Dame cathedral: Live updates - CNN

Patryk Bukalski was at a café near the Notre Dame cathedral when he started smelling smoke.

“A bartender said the Notre Dame is on fire, so I left and saw this horrible picture,” he told CNN over Instagram, where he posted a video of the burning cathedral.

He said people are standing outside, just watching and crying. “It’s horrible. It’s a symbol of Paris,” Bukalski said. “It’s just sad. I don’t know what more to say.”

At the scene: It is eerily quiet. Hundreds of people are lining the Seine watching the fire, but they are silent. Police have pushed people back, even telling residents they can’t go to their homes.

“In Paris, it’s a monumental symbol -- every person with different religions are really moved and saddened," said another witness named Anne Marie, speaking with tears in her eyes.

"Paris without the cathedral is not Paris anymore," she said.

See the crowds here:

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2019-04-15 19:52:00Z
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Notre Dame cathedral spire collapses - CNN

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2019-04-15 19:05:44Z
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The US should pay 17.83% of Notre Dame's reconstruction costs - Washington Examiner

France is a great nation and the French a glorious people. Notre Dame Cathedral speaks to that: Even while burning, it represents France's majestic culture and history. It was mostly completed just two years after the Mongol annihilation of Baghdad and 545 years before Napoleon's great victory of Austerlitz.

When rebuilt, Notre Dame will once again represent abundant French pride and resilience. America should play a part in that rebuilding. It will likely be expensive, perhaps reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, France is our oldest ally. It is the ally that made George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams our nation's fathers, rather than traitors who died on the gallows at the hands of British rulers.

Now, France and Notre Dame deserve our help.

In service of our shared history and deep friendship, President Trump should consult with French President Emmanuel Macron. He should then ask Congress to authorize a grant to France worth 17.83% of Notre Dame's total reconstruction costs. That funding would serve two purposes: offering tangible solidarity to France and making that solidarity a partner to our continuing history. (1783 was the year the Treaty of Paris was signed and Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States.)

This isn't only about symbolism, however.

Mutual interest demands that France and America face the rest of the 21st century together as allies. Helping France return Notre Dame to glory will represent something special but simple: America's clear intent that no hardship or fire will ever destroy our "fraternité."

That symbol would mean something crucial for the U.S. and France: Together, our best days continue to lie ahead.

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2019-04-15 18:35:00Z
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Part of Notre-Dame Cathedral Spire Collapses in Fire - The New York Times

PARIS — A large fire broke out at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris on Monday evening, causing part of the historic church’s spire to collapse as the blaze spread along its roof.

André Finot, a spokesman for the cathedral, said in a telephone interview that the cause of the fire remained unknown, and there was no immediate indication that anyone had been hurt.

“It’s not about the faith — Notre-Dame is a symbol of France,” said Emmanuel Guary, a 31-year-old actor who was among a huge crowd amassed on the Rue Rivoli, on the Right Bank. Many had tears in their eyes.

Google Earth; Ian Langsdon/EPA, via Shutterstock

By The New York Times

After part of the spire collapsed, the fire appeared to spread across the rooftop, where the growing flames licked the sky and projected a yellow smoke over the horizon.

The fire alarm first went off around 6:30 p.m., Mr. Finot said, adding that the cathedral had been evacuated. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation.

As the last rush of tourists were trying to get in for the day, the doors of Notre-Dame were abruptly shut without explanation, witnesses said. Within moments, tiny bits of white smoke started rising from the spire.

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Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral is currently undergoing extensive renovation work.CreditCharles Platiau/Reuters

Billowing out, the smoke started turning gray, then black, making it clear that a fire was growing inside the cathedral, which is currently covered in scaffolding. Soon, orange flames began punching out of the spire, quickly increasing in intensity.

The French police rushed in and started blowing whistles, telling everyone to move back, witnesses said. By then, the flames were towering, spilling out of multiple parts of the cathedral. Tourists and residents alike came to a standstill, pulling out their phones to call their loved ones. Older Parisians began to cry, lamenting how their national treasure was quickly being lost.

Thousands stood on the banks of the Seine river and watched in shock as the fire tore through the cathedral’s wooden roof and brought down part of the spire. Video filmed by onlookers and shared on social media showed smoke and flames billowing from the top of the cathedral.

Vincent Dunn, a fire consultant and former New York City fire chief, said that fire hose streams could not reach the top of such a cathedral, and that reaching the top on foot was often an arduous climb over winding steps.

“These cathedrals and houses of worship are built to burn,” he said. “If they weren’t houses of worship, they’d be condemned.”

Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris said on Twitter that “a terrible fire” had struck at the cathedral.

“The Paris firefighters are currently trying to stop the flames,” Ms. Hidalgo said. “I ask everyone to respect the security boundaries.”

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Notre-Dame is one of the city’s most famous landmarks, drawing about 13 million visitors a year.CreditFrancois Guillot/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Paris police warned people to stay away from the area around the cathedral, which is one of the city’s most famous landmarks, drawing about 13 million visitors a year.

Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral is currently undergoing extensive renovation work. Last week, several statues were lifted by crane from the spire.

“It hurts to watch this. The cathedral is the symbol, the heart of Paris,” said Pierre-Eric Trimovillas, 32. The crowd gasped and cried in horror as the spire fell, Mr. Trimovillas said, adding, “Paris is beheaded.”

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Thousands of Parisians and tourists gathered on the banks of the Seine river and watched in shock as the fire tore through the cathedral’s wooden roof and brought down part of the spire.CreditThibault Camus/Associated Press

The crowds that had gathered were eerily calm, with little shouting or commotion.

Angelique de Almeida, 32, watched through tears. “We are going to lose her, everything is up in flames,” she said. “We lose this, we lose Paris. It is apocalyptic. And this is the Holy Week.”

Glenn Corbett, an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College in New York, said that construction work and renovations had long been a dangerous combination.

“There’s a history of churches and synagogues and other houses of worship falling victim to construction fires,” he said.

One of the reasons for the peril, Mr. Corbett said, was the proximity of open flames on torches, sparks from welders and other hazards on scaffolding to other flammable materials. Like Notre-Dame’s wooden roof, those materials are often high up and difficult to reach with fire suppression methods like water from hoses.

Mr. Corbett cited what he called the “catastrophic” fire and the Central Synagogue on Fifth Avenue in New York in 1998, which began with work on the air conditioning system.

President Emmanuel Macron of France canceled a major speech that was scheduled for Monday evening, in which he was supposed to announce measures addressing the Yellow Vest protest movement that has roiled the country over the past months.

Mr. Macron said on Twitter that “like all of our fellow citizens, I am sad tonight to see this part of us burn.”

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2019-04-15 18:29:26Z
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