France: Macron calls for preservation of old churches

A symbol of French spirit, determination and resistance. According to French President Macron, the famous Mont-Saint-Michel monastery is all that. Monday marked 1,000 years since the first stone was laid. Since then, it has been a symbolically important place. It was there, for instance, that Nicolas Sarkozy launched his successful presidential campaign in 2007. And also, on Monday, a day before newly planned pension protests, Macron used it as the backdrop of a speech.

Mont Saint-Michel has been iconic for a thousand years

05-06-2023

The French people should, according to the president, "push themselves further" in facing global challenges such as climate change. These developments will also affect historic buildings. And it is these buildings that Macron wants to save. Since 2017, heritage has been a priority of Macron's cultural policy, the Catholic newspaper La Croix reports.

Not only do these buildings suffer from climate change due to higher humidity and invasive plants, but they are also more frequently and frequently damaged by vandalism and neglect. And that is why, Macron says, there must be a plan to save these buildings.

The first step is to map the heritage, La Croix writes. Today, of the 50,000 religious buildings assigned to worship (including 42,000 Catholics), only 10,500 are listed or registered. The need is particularly high in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. And it is these municipalities that Macron is mainly targeting.

After the inventarisation, money is needed—a lot of it. Therefore, Macron intends to mobilise an old tool: national subscriptions. Macron used this tool earlier to finance the fire-damaged Notre Dame in Paris. In return for tax benefits, French citizens can donate money.

With the plans, Macron is responding to parliamentarians who wrote an open letter to the president in February. They then called for action against the decline of rural churches. "Each time a church disappears, a fragment of France's soul vanishes." Earlier, research showed that between now and 2030, 2,500 and 5,000 church buildings will disappear if no action is taken.