Notre Dame Restoration and its Relationship With the Common People

About five years ago, Notre Dame Cathedral caught on fire. Back then, restoration funds of about 700 million euros were required. But it seemed that acquiring the money to build it wasn't that hard as two billionaire businessmen already donating 300 million euros to the project. That moment sparked criticism from groups like the Yellow Vest who were protesting about social inequality in France. To them, it looked like if the government could speedily acquire that much funds to build back up the cathedral, it would also put the same emphasis on issues like housing, healthcare, & education. The government didn't seem to prioritize those issues, which was why these groups spoke out about them. Up until December of 2024, the restoration project was finally finished. On its grand opening, thousands of people showed up, including world leaders.

It was rather bittersweet to see a cultural marvel like Notre Dame to come back more beautiful than ever while simultaneously knowing how priorities are kept behind the scenes. The French government could allow powerful donors to come up with millions of euros, but it wouldn't have the same energy for issues affecting every day civilians? Private donors could fund public projects just like the rest of us, but their wealth could influence government decision-making. This kind of rapid mobilization does highlight social inequalities when it comes to class. Nonetheless, Notre Dame symbolizes much more than current politics. But the controversy does show a relationship between wealth, power, and public good in democracies.

Notre Dame is a structure that should make every French person be proud of. It was a long-standing cathedral going back to the middle ages that served Catholic followers for centuries. It also had beautiful architecture. Yet, among the midst of the political climate, current citizens aren't able to see the goodness of restoring this cultural artifact because of the issues right in front of them. A lot of people aren't living optimized lives in France because of healthcare & housing barriers. And in an increasingly secular country, it's inevitable for these kinds of issues to be at the forefront.

About those two billionaire businessmen, they were father & son who donated millions of euros to the restoration project. This pretty much kickstarted the project as they already contributed almost half the money required. But the amount of time it took the government to facilitate those funds toward the function could be the same it could address the country's social issues. But an important thing to note here is that if it weren't for those two businessmen, the project wouldn't have been started as speedily. It probably would've been delayed and treated as another task the government had to manage. The key here is that if the government had enough money to address an issue, it would do it as quickly as possible, as shown here. Also, the project couldn't wait that long to steady itself as the Notre Dame building was on the brink of collapse. Something had to be done soon to restructure it.