French business tycoons commit €600m to restore Notre Dame Cathedral

• Pledges for donation came after firefighters confirmed that the fire had been extinguished completely
   
• President Emmanuel Macron plans to begin a national fundraising campaign for the cathedral’s reconstruction

Major corporations and billionaires from France have reportedly committed to donating at least €600 million for helping in the reconstruction of the recently damaged Notre Dame Cathedral, which has suffered a catastrophic fire.

Apparently, the pledges for donation came after Paris firefighters confirmed that the fire had been extinguished completely. A spokesperson for the fire brigade stated that experts were now analyzing every structure to determine the next stages.

François-Henri Pinault, CEO and Chairman of Kering, which owns brands like Saint Laurent and Gucci, said he and his family would be donating €100 million for reconstruction of the cathedral. The fund would be released from the holding company Groupe Artémis, Pinault had informed.

Luxury goods company LVMH’s CEO and Chairman, Bernard Arnault, supposedly doubled the donation of Pinault the next day. A statement from the company confirmed that the LVMH group and the Arnault family would donate €200 million to the funds for reconstructing Notre Dame, which is a significant part of France’s history.

L’Oreal, the French cosmetics company, along with its majority shareholder Bettencourt Meyers family and their charitable trust, also pledged €200 million combined, sources familiar with the matter said. Founder of the dating mobile app Badoo, Andrey Andreev, also informed that 100% of the app’s profits in April from its 22 million French users will be donated for the reconstruction of the cathedral.

According to the sources, combining the donations from French corporations which includes €100 million for oil & gas major Total, the collective amount committed towards the rebuilding of Notre Dame surpassed €600 million.

Remarkably, this was before the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, unveiled plans to begin a national fundraising campaign for reconstruction of the cathedral, which is centuries old.

Sources added that even Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, confirmed the company will contribute to towards the cathedral’s rebuilding efforts.