Save our monuments in Île-de-France and Oise: thanks to you, more than 53,000 euros collected

Nine monuments in Île-de-France and Oise will take on color again.

Operation Sauvons nos monuments, launched by our newspaper in partnership with the start-up Dartagnans and the Île-de-France region, ended earlier this week.

In total, 53,066 euros were collected to restore these buildings.

You are 474 donors, from five different countries, to have participated.

Belgians, Germans, Swiss and even Dutch have also mobilized to preserve our local heritage.

Now, the essential can begin: the work.

“It's a superb mobilization, welcomes Romain Delaume, director of the start-up.

In France, the average of a crowdfunding campaign is rather around 2,000 or 3,000 euros.

Some project leaders were embarking on the crowdfunding adventure for the first time.

They have now learned to master the tools to start a communication campaign.

It has become almost essential when you want to finance the restoration of a monument.

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The project to restore the stained glass windows of the Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church in Paris raised 8,199 euros.

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This second edition offered unprecedented visibility to nine treasures from Île-de-France and Oise, such as churches, a boudoir dating from the Empire, an old SNCF car or even a conical anti-aircraft shelter. Located in the town of Villenoy (Seine-et-Marne), it is the latter that aroused the greatest enthusiasm with 8,225 euros collected thanks to 40 contributors. It is followed by the stained glass windows of the Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church in Paris (18th century) with 8,199 euros collected from 53 contributors from two different countries, then by the Saint-Pierre de Jaux church, in the Oise (7,660 euros for 45 donors), and by the Saint-Aignan church in Chalou-Moulineux, in Essonne (7,075 euros for 82 donors from two countries).

The SNCF car from the Capitole to Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) raised 6,140 euros, the Masséna boudoir, in Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine), 6,110 euros, the Sainte-Agnès church in Maisons-Alfort (Val-de-Marne) 5,357 euros, the organ of the Saint-Béat church, in Épône (Yvelines), 2 2 35 euros, and the castle of La Roche-Guyon (Val-d'Oise), 2 065 euros.

Two French teachers want to revive the Capitol dining car, the train that linked Paris to Toulouse, now abandoned in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).

LP / Cindy Bonnaud

A formidable outcome for this large-scale operation that began in October.

Beforehand, the files had been selected by the start-up and the Île-de-France region, before being decided by journalists from Le Parisien.

Eighteen monuments were put to the vote of our readers on the Sauvonsnosmonuments.fr site in order to decide between the nine finalists.

From now on, the project leaders will be able to recover the sums of their pot within fifteen to thirty days.

Another advantage is that the region will support buildings that do not yet benefit from the regional interest label to obtain it.

The file for the old SNCF train in Saint-Denis is therefore already being put together, for example.

The church of Saint-Pierre de Jaux (Oise), threatened by infiltration, has not been renovated since the 1950s. LP / Simon Gourru

Emmanuel Hude, mayor of Villenoy, whose conical shelter came out on top, said he was "extremely satisfied" with this campaign.

“This will help us get the work started as quickly as possible,” he says.

I noticed that the donors were mainly residents of the commune who did not want to see it wither away.

We now want to organize regular visits.

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In Paris, Caroline Morizot, in charge of the inventory of sacred art in the diocese, is also delighted with the amount collected for the stained glass windows of the Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church.

“This is more than the average collection we expected,” she appreciates.

This will allow the restoration of all of the stained glass windows to begin.

With 8,000 euros, we can already renovate one and the work will begin in 2022!

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In third place, the pretty church of Saint-Pierre de Jaux, in the Oise, for its part attracted 45 donors for a total of 7,660 euros.

Membership that surprised Freddy Groszek, village finance assistant.

“A lady put in 2,000 euros.

I felt compelled to dissuade a gentleman from donating 5,000 euros when he informed me of the amount of his pension.

Finally, he donated 1000 euros and told me that it made him happy because he had no family.

He is very attached to this church, ”says the elected official.

The superb boudoir in the home of Marshal André Massena contains woodwork which has deteriorated over time.

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Beyond the financial aspect, this operation created great stories. The boudoir of the Maison Masséna, in Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine) collected 6,110 euros. But this campaign also led the friends of the House of Masséna to find a descendant of General Masséna. “He still has the title that Napoleon gave to his grandfather, the Duke of Rivoli. He had never come and, thanks to this project, he promised to do so, ”enthuses Thibaut de Lorgeril, secretary of the Association for Friendship.

Like most project leaders, the latter did not know the world of catering before the operation.

“We were not heritage professionals.

One of our members immersed himself in the history of the place to talk about it in videos.

What we found really cool was that people discovered that Maison Masséna is also a place of solidarity for the homeless, he reports.

They rang at our door, some with galettes des Rois.

It generated some nice encounters.

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The organ of the Saint-Béat d'Épône church (Yvelines) shows worrying signs of wear.

The story does not end there. It is always possible to help these monuments. Because if the jackpots are now closed, these buildings still need you. Most of the time, it is sufficient to send a donation in an envelope to the address of the heritage you want to preserve. The Le Prévost Foundation, owner of the Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church, is still collecting funds to restore all of the stained-glass windows. "Volunteers can send their donation in cash or by check to the order of the foundation and send it to the Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church", specifies Caroline Morizot, in charge of the inventory of the foundation. sacred art in the diocese.

For the conical shelter of Villenoy, the church of Saint-Pierre de Jaux and many other municipal treasures, the sums can be sent directly to the town halls.

The association that supports the Masséna house boudoir project even provides for contributions in exchange for funding.

“Those who would like to continue helping with the restoration can send us a donation to the Association des Amis de la Maison Masséna.

It will be tax-exempt on the same principle, informs Thibaut de Lorgeril, secretary of the Association for Friendship.

Donors will be able to enjoy a candlelit dinner in the room or visit the restoration site, as for the Save Our Monuments campaign.

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