Visitors to Notre-Dame de Paris may soon be required to pay an entrance fee to enter the church, according to plans by Culture Minister Rashida Dati.
The minister wants to introduce an entry fee of 5 euros to the World Heritage site when it reopens to the public on December 8 this year. Before the 2019 fire, entry was free for everyone.
The funds from this “symbolic category for all tourist visits to Notre-Dame will be allocated to preserving the religious heritage” of France, said the minister in an interview with Le Figaro.
Dati has already discussed the plan with the Archbishop of Paris, but the policy has not been officially accepted.
“With just 5 euros per visitor, we will have 75 million euros per year. In this way, Notre Dame will save all the churches in Paris and France,” he added.
The reopening of Notre-Dame, which was closed to the public after a devastating fire in 2019, is scheduled for December 8.