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Renovation plan for Paris churches
Paris city hall will invest €80million but heritage groups say this will not go far enough to save crumbling buildings
PARIS city authorities are to invest €80million in renovation works for 19 of the capital's churches between now and 2020.
The improvements, which were one of mayor Anne Hidalgo's election manifesto pledges, will be backed by a further €11million from the French central government.
Since the separation of church and state in 1905, Paris city hall has owned 96 places of worship: 85 churches, nine temples and two synagogues.
Religious heritage group the Observatoire du Patrimoine Religieux (OPR) says the investment is "well below what is needed" and estimates that up to €500million is required.
For example, renovation works on Saint-Sulpice alone - which have already been funded - are budgeted at €50-€60million.
OPR president Maxime Cumunel says crumbling church buildings pose a serious safety risk. At one church on the Ile-Saint-Louis, part of a bronze cross on the bell tower fell off as mass was ending and the bishop narrowly avoided being struck by it.
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About three quarters of the city's churches are listed buildings - and 20 of them belong on a priority list for maintenance, including Madeleine, Saint-Augustin and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
