By Elizabeth Liu
Staff Writer
The country of France has a long, deep history as a sovereign nation. It is not short of historical monuments for tourists to visit, such as the Eiffel Tower. Sadly, tragedy struck as the Cathedral of the Notre Dame De Paris was found burning in flames on April 15.
The world and France watched in horror as the 400 year old building was on fire. What was the symbolism behind the building burning on this day was that according to CNN, it was the start of Holy Week for the Catholic religion.
In the Catholic faith, the Cathedral, Notre Dame De Paris is a historic monument for those who have been raised of the Catholic religion all around the world. The fire itself lasted for several hours. A few items from the Cathedral were saved, including two pairs of bells that were featured in the film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by Victor Hugo, according to CNN. Representatives also said that valuables of historical significance were also saved, including the Crown of Thorns.
Some of the infrastructure of the Notre Dame has been around since 1681, “survived the French Revolution and has been rung at some of the most important events in French History, including both World Wars,” according to the New York Times. The building has more of a historical significance to people all around the world, especially those who practice the Catholic faith.
This is because of the role that the Cathedral has played in European history. There have been pictures on The New York Times of thousands of people crying over the tragedy; and tourists that were already present on the sight were praying for the survival of the building.
According to The New York Times, work on the Notre Dame began during the time period of medieval architecture; it started in 1163 and finished in 1345. After the fire, according to The New York Times, President Edouard Philippe said that after a “special cabinet meeting” on April 17, that the government would organize an international architecture competition to design a spire after Notre-Dame’s own collapsed in the fire on Monday and crashed through the Cathedral vaulted ceiling.
On social media, however, many people are upset over the fact that people are willing to rescue a Catholic building that has historical significance. The majority of the reasoning is that minorities are getting angry at white people for rescuing the building in France, and that the world should be focused on other social justice issues.
There have been multiple posts about the burning of the Cathedral getting funding from millionaires about rebuilding the Cathedral. Many people are angry at the fact that millionaires were very quick to respond to the tragedy in France; however, other social justice issues need to be addressed as well.
Millionaires around the world have donated money to the rebuild of Notre-Dame De Paris and many people around the world are upset about how quick that people react to rescue a building that has religious significance.
Despite the significant damage that was done to the Cathedral, major infrastructure parts still remain. According to The New York Times, there was plans to set up an international fundraiser to that the Cathedral could be rebuilt.
This is an unprofessional way for politicians to essentially ask for money to rebuild a Cathedral that while is important to France, goes to show that white privilege does have a sense for social justice.
The building is over 800 years old, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. He also released a general statement to the press with the themes that France will rebuild.
“Notre Dame is our history, it’s our literature, it’s our imagery. It’s the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars to pandemics to liberations,”
“This history is ours. And it burns. It burns and I know the sadness so many of our fellow French feel.”
The Cathedral has around 13 million tourists a year. According to NPR, over two thousand tourists were in the building as the fire was taking place.
While the building is centuries old and has suffered from natural deterioration before; people were still shocked to see the monument burn to the ground. The French President that day according to NPR was supposed to give a speech on Monday, but because of security reasons, he was informed that he would have to move his speech to a different day. It was an appropriate choice for national security reasonings to move the speech and to give France a day of mourning of the loss after the Cathedral.
Donating money to rebuild a monument was a consciousness choice of the individual. While it is very beneficial for the French government to gain the money from outside sources, it should be noted that there is room to be sad about the tragedy, and not shame people for donating money for causes that they may be passionate about.
