After the majestic spectacle of the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral, one of the architectural and religious matrices of our civilization, France’s economic, political and institutional crisis threatens national and presidential museum ambitions.
During the solemn ceremonies of the reopening, accompanied by the archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paristhe president Emmanuel Macron confirmed his personal project and ambition: to create a museum dedicated to Notre-Damein the building of the Hôtel-Dieu, the oldest of the hospitals in Paris, a historical symbol of the charity and hospitality of the Church of France.
The Hôtel-Dieu began construction in 651. Two short steps from the first building of the first Parisian charitable institution, Notre-Dame began construction in 1163, five hundred years later. With the passage of time, the centuries, the hospital serving the poorest and neediest became a humanitarian appendix of the great cathedral.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Hôtel-Dieu distanced itself significantly from Notre-Dame, to transform itself into a large conventional hospital. That has been its essential mission throughout the 20th century, until, as we entered our century, the building and its institutions began to become outdated and it was necessary to move almost all of its services.
Coinciding with one of his institutional visits Notre-Dame, under construction, President Macron announced on April 14, 2023 his desire to launch a national reflection to convert the Hôtel-Dieu into a Notre-Dame museum.
The Vatican and the Church of France maintained a prudent silence. The French State is the owner of the Notre-Dame building and a good part of the urban-ecclesiastical heritage, with little fortune. In France there is more than 3,000 churches threatened.
The evening of the opening of Notre-Dame, when the restoration work will continue for several months, Macron once again relaunched his project to create a Notre-Dame museum in the Hôtel-Dieu. Three days later, the saddest reality returns to remember the data basic budgets: France continues without a State budget and it is not clear when the next budgets of the Ministry of Culture can be approved…
His government was censored last week, Emmanuel Macron This Monday, the ‘search and capture’ of a possible prime minister of a desirable new government continues. When the president has a prime minister, it will be necessary to form a new Government, which will still take several weeks to propose the State budget at the beginning of the year. When the new government presents its draft state budget it will have to face the risk of new censorship…
Once all these obstacles have been overcome, it is not clear either. if there will be money to create a new museum. In the last national budgets, the items dedicated to artistic-cultural heritage had been cut by 23%. Cuts that directly affect the conservation of historical monuments.
International financial reporting agencies have warned that the state’s debts and deficits threaten national credibility. It remains to be seen how and when a new museum dedicated to Notre-Dame could be financed.
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