France’s Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, amid discussions on entry fees for visitor |
Paris: Before the tragic fire that ravaged a large part of the Notre Dame cathedral of Paris in April 2019, this architectural marvel was the most visited historical monument in Europe. This Gothic wonder built between the 12th and 14th centuries boasted around 14 million visitors each year.
After five and a half years of repair and restoration, the famed cathedral will open its doors again today. Around 50 heads of state will attend the cérémonie d’ouverture or opening ceremony this evening. It will be open to the general public from Sunday, 8 December with the first mass open to all starting at 6:30 p.m.
While all of France waits with baited breath to see her jewel rise to glory yet again, the tourists cannot help but ask if they will have to shell out a few euros to visit the Notre Dame which has always offered free entry to its visitors. As of now, entry to France’s pride remains free, but several French MPs are calling for a thorough debate on the subject.
Rachida Dati, the French Minister of Culture sowed the seed for this debate. In an interview to the leading French daily, Le Figaro, she proposed to set an entrance fee for all tourists and to devote the money collected to a plan to safeguard religious heritage.
“With only 5 euros per visitor, we would collect 75 million euros per year. In this way, Notre-Dame de Paris would save all the churches in Paris and France. It would be a magnificent symbol,” explained the minister.
She also suggested charging foreign tourists more. To beef up her argument, Dati stressed, “Everywhere in Europe, access to the most remarkable religious buildings is subject to a fee.”
The entry rates vary enormously from one country to another. On the other hand, France’s European neighbours are different from it because the religions in several European countries often own the places.
According to the 1905 French law on the separation of Church and State that these religious buildings are the property of “the municipalities on whose territory they are located” or of the State.
“The visit of these buildings cannot give rise to any tax or fee.” In other words, places of worship built before this date must be able to open their doors to the public free of charge.
The idea of an entry free to the Notre Dame has divided the political class, with the right being in favour of it while the left is opposed to it. The diocese of Paris is however not in agreement with Dati. It recalled in a press release, “The unchanged position of the Catholic Church in France regarding free admission to churches.”
“At Notre-Dame, pilgrims and visitors have never been distinguished : services are celebrated during visits and visits continue during services,” reads the press release. It reminds that this gratuity is part both of the provisions of the 1905 law and of the fundamental mission of churches which is to welcome unconditionally and therefore necessarily gratuitously every man and woman.
The law nevertheless allows for some adjustments. Thus, access to certain parts of religious buildings may be subject to an entrance fee, such as towers, crypts or treasures. For instance, only access to the Notre Dame Treasury, a section containing liturgical and historical objects, will be subject to a charge. Since 2006, attending a concert or visiting an exhibition in a church can also be subject to a fee. However this law does not apply to deconsecrated places of worship.
While tourists need not worry about paying an entry fee for now, it will still be necessary to make an online reservation in advance. The cathedral can only accommodate 3,000 people at a time. According to the diocese, this system of online reservation has been set up to manage the massive flow of visitors. For pilgrims coming to pay their respects there will be a separate queue.
