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Posted by: Mazur Rodica

News / International

10 May 2019 / 19:11

French MPs debate law on speedy Notre-Dame restoration

French lawmakers on Friday debated a controversial draft law for restoring Notre-Dame within five years, after the iconic Paris cathedral sustained major fire damage last month, France24 reports.

Renovating the 850-year-old Gothic cathedral, whose wooden roof was largely destroyed in the April 15 blaze, will be an unprecedented challenge for the government, which has drafted a special bill for managing the huge project.

Days after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron set a target for the restoration to be finished within five years, meaning it should be ready by the time Paris hosts the Olympics in 2024.

But the draft legislation, which aims to speed up the construction process, has sparked controversy because it would involve removing some of the red tape protecting the ancient structure.

As the debate opened, Culture Minister Franck Riester told MPs that although five years was "an ambitious timeframe" for renovating Notre-Dame, which took 200 years to build, the project would "not be done in haste".

So far, nearly one billion euros ($1.1 billion) has been donated or pledged for Notre-Dame, with Riester pledging that the funds will go "entirely and exclusively" to its restoration.

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