Murals damaged by humidity, gargoyles cut down by pollution ... In Paris, the momentum to save Notre-Dame made jealous in the 85 churches belonging to the city. And the cathedral fire rekindled debates on the preservation of the capital's religious heritage.
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The socialist town hall, owner of 96 places of worship, including 85 churches, highlights 142 million euros of voted and committed investments, 80 million of which were spent during the mandate of Anne Hidalgo, candidate for her reelection to the municipal occasion in March.
This heritage "remains in a very worrying state" , despite "obvious progress in recent years" , says the Observatory of Religious Heritage (OPR). Maintenance and restoration represent huge sites on a heterogeneous heritage, from the 12th century Gothic to the reinforced concrete churches.
Restorations "in small pieces"
La Trinité (works for 26 million euros), but also Saint-Augustin, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Merry, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Louis-en-l'Île ... These are not only facades, chapels, but also 40,000 works (stained glass, statues, sculptures, paintings, frescoes, paintings, etc.) forming an invaluable heritage, little known and poorly maintained.
In this context, the 50 million promised by Anne Hidalgo for Notre-Dame de Paris, property of the State, caused debate. Aid justified by the town hall which claims that the cathedral "is a consubstantial part of the city" .
500 million euros should be mobilized within 20 years to renovate the churches of Paris.“The town hall said it had no more money. She found it for Notre-Dame! It gives to put yourself at the level of great patrons, like Arnault or Pinault, ” criticizes the journalist and historian Didier Rykner, from the Art Tribune . "We restore the churches in small pieces, there is no overall plan, not enough curators," he said.
The municipality, according to its detractors, would favor what is visible, installing "patches" , making "blockages" . And heritage would deteriorate faster than it is restored, which would only increase the bill for the future, they point out.
According to a study by the OPR, 500 million euros should be mobilized within 20 years to renovate the churches of Paris. So that they are perceived as an attractive "showcase" and an "open-air museum" of an exceptional heritage, estimates its secretary general, Maxime Cumunel.
A “breath of fresh air” for patrons
Karen Taïeb, assistant in charge of heritage, challenges the critics. She had to constantly, she said, go to the most urgent: ensure "the closed and covered" (protection of a building), while infiltration, and secondarily pollution, swell and drop the stones. Nets, props are thus placed in various churches. “We never patch up. The cause must be restored before repairing the effects. We cannot come and paint when there are preliminary studies to be carried out, ” pleads the elected official, thinking of the painful case of the beautiful murals damaged in Saint-Séverin.
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Pierre-Henry Colombier, Deputy Director of Heritage at the City of Paris, takes on the tough task of "executing very large budgets" with a team of 35 people. "We are in the long term, not in the symbol," he pleads.
For Christophe Rousselot, general delegate of the Notre-Dame Foundation, the fire of April 15, however, "created a breath of fresh air" for the patrons, more than 400 companies having contributed for the cathedral. Thus for the complex restoration of the Madeleine: "a patron, who was not identified as a patron of the heritage, has come forward" .
“A dam has given way in support of cultural buildings. Before the institutional patrons were scared. Then they saw the visceral attachment of people - believers or atheists - to this heritage. We no longer hesitate to say that we are going to “patronize” the cultural heritage ” , analyzes Mr. Colombier.
The city relies, he notes, on this "armed wing" that constitutes the Foundation for the future of heritage in Paris, a subsidiary of the Notre-Dame Foundation, to define together the targets of patronage. A model to follow: the superb interior restoration of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, practically completed, which was mainly provided thanks to patronage.