Donors pledge over 700 mln euros to rebuild Notre-Dame cathedral

Reuters , Tuesday 16 Apr 2019

Notre-Dame
View of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, April 15, 2019. A massive fire consumed the cathedral on Monday, gutting its roof and stunning France and the world. REUTERS

Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral went up in flames on Monday evening, a blaze that devastated the landmark, destroying its wooden-beamed roof and collapsing the iconic spire in a searing loss for Paris and France.

President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the Gothic masterpiece, and within the first 24 hours after the fire began, tycoons, companies and local authorities stepped forward with large donations. Here are the main pledges made so far:

LVMH

French billionaire businessman Bernard Arnault's family and his LVMH luxury goods group said they would donate 200 million euros to help repair the cathedral.

Kering

Francois Henri Pinault, who heads the Kering luxury goods company, pledged 100 million euros through his Artemis holding.

L'Oreal

French luxury and cosmetics group L'Oreal, along with the Bettencourt Meyer family and the Bettencourt Schueller foundation, will donate 200 million euros in total.

Air France-KLM

Air France offered free transportation for all official participants in Notre-Dame reconstruction.

Total

French oil company Total said it will donate 100 million euros.

AXA

French insurer Axa pledged 10 million euros.

BNP

French bank BNP pledged 20 million euros.

Fimalac

Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, head of the group that runs ratings agency Fitch, pledged 10 million euros.

Vinci

Construction group Vinci called on all building companies in France to join forces to repair the cathedral in an "industry-wide skills sponsorship drive".

Bouygues

Martin Bouygues and his brother Olivier, who oversee a telecoms to construction conglomerate, pledged to donate 10 million euros. Bouygues group separately said it was ready to join the "skills sponsorship" drive.

Saint-Gobain

French construction materials group Saint-Gobain said it is ready to provide its expertise for the renovation, notably of the stained-glass windows.

Caisse Des Depots

CEO Eric Lombard said the state-controlled bank will offer oak trees to rebuild the wood framework of the cathedral.

JCDecaux

French outdoor advertising group pledged 20 million euros.

Societe Generale

Societe Generate bank pledged 10 million euros.

Casino

The French retailer said its Franprix and Monoprix stores would implement price-rounding operations to support foundations helping with repairs.

Apple

CEO Tim Cook said on Twitter Apple would donate an unspecified sum to rebuilding efforts.

City Of Paris

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city would donate 50 million euros.

Ile-De-France Authority

Valerie Pecresse, head of the Ile de France regional authority that includes Paris, pledged 10 million euros.

Auvergne-Rhone Alpes Region

Local government said it would donate 2 million euros.

European Central Bank

The bank said it would donate 9 million euros.

Cap Gemini

IT services group said it would donate 1 million euros.

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