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Billionaire art collector Francois Pinault, who saved Hauteville House from disrepair last year with a 3 million euro gift that paid for its restoration, has pledged more than 100 million euros to help rebuild the iconic Notre Dame cathedral after a major fire tore through the building.
A massive fire raged through the French landmark for hours yesterday, starting yesterday evening. The blaze has been linked to extensive renovation works that were underway.
Firefighters were on the scene for more than nine hours and while they managed to salvage the cathedral's main stone structure, the spire and roof collapsed.
French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to rebuild the 850-year-old Gothic landmark, announcing plans to launch a national subscription scheme to pay for the work, with Mr Pinault one of the first to commit funds to the rebuild.
According to AFP, the chairman and CEO of Kering, the French-based luxury group behind Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, hopes the money will help church officials with its complete rebuild.
Locally, politicians have taken to social media to express their sympathies, including Policy & Resource's external affairs lead Jonathan Le Tocq.
Grande tristesse pour le patrimoine français #NotreDame #incendie #paris https://t.co/qlzNyBWCWJ
— Jonathan Le Tocq ???????? (@letocq) 15 April 2019
The French have always done Medieval really well. This is a sad day for our French cousins #NotreDame
— tothevale (@tothevale) 15 April 2019
Pictured: Hauteville House has reopened after major refurbishment, which Mr Pinault helped fund.
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