France considers introducing charges to visit Notre-Dame de Paris

The French Culture Minister Rachida Dati has proposed an entrance fee to Notre Dame cathedral, one of the country’s most visited monuments, in order to fund maintenance costs for other religious buildings.

France is facing a growing crisis with its aging religious structures, many of which have been neglected due to insufficient funding. Hundreds of churches across the country are in dire need of repair and at risk of partial collapse or demolition, including Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the Notre-Dame de l’Épine in Marne and the Saint-Denis Basilica in Saint-Denis.

In an interview with Le Figaro, published online on Wednesday, Rachida Dati claims that “charging admission to Notre-Dame would save all the churches in France”.

Dati has reportedly suggested to the Archbishop of Paris that tourists should be charged five euros to enter the cathedral.

All of the money would be devoted to “a major plan to safeguard France’s religious heritage”, according to Dati. The minister hopes to raise €75 million a year.

The proposal has also been backed by the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Rachida Dati also wants to modulate the pricing of national monuments and museums from 2026, saying that “visitors from outside the EU” could pay “more” than French visitors to “finance the renovation of our national heritage”.

Notre-Dame de Paris is due to reopen on 7 December, after nearly five years of reconstruction following the fire that ravaged it in 2019.