Donations To Rebuild Notre Dame Are Pouring In
On Monday evening, devastation spread across the globe as one of Paris' most iconic, cultural landmarks the Notre Dame cathedral caught fire. Within minutes bystanders took to social media to share videos and images of the blaze, leading to an outpour of global sympathy for the people of Paris for the destruction of the historical landmark.
Firefighters were quick on the scene to fight the blaze which took eight hours to put out. Severe damage was done to the wooden roof that was built with beams 800 years ago. The stone construction survived the fire, along with a number of relics including the altar cross and the famous rose window also survived.
Following the devastation of the fire, more than €600m has now been pledged by billionaires, charities, companies and individuals to help rebuild the cathedral. French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who is the chief executive officer of LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods company will donate €200m to help repair Notre Dame cathedral. According to Forbes magazine, Arnault is the richest person in Europe and the fourth-richest person in the world.
In a statement issued on behalf of the Arnault family said:
The Arnault family and the LVMH group would like to show their solidarity at a this time of national tragedy, and are joining up to help rebuild this extraordinary cathedral, which is a symbol of France, of its heritage and of French unity
Some similar donations are €100m donation from Francois Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering luxury goods company and French energy giant Total will also make a €100m donation.
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These generous donations, while admirable, have led people to question "How are there still hungry people in the world?". People have acknowledged the while it is a beautiful, historical building that is was devastating to see in flames, it's material possessions and people should always be prioritised.
140,000+ people are homeless in France including 30,000+ children. A homeless person dies every 20 hours in France but yet it's not a tragedy & no one steps in to house them. Meanwhile, the old Notre Dame Cathedral catches fire & everyone is in tears & drop hundreds of millions in donations! from u/alicheaib
This highlights the global growth in inequality, the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. Currently, chronic undernourishment impacts roughly 815 million people which are over 10% of the world’s population.
