Renovation plan for Paris churches

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.

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.