One euro invested in heritage would generate up to 21 euros in economic benefits

Thursday, October 7, the Fondation du Patrimoine celebrates its quarter of a century at an evening at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris.

And with the feeling of having done useful work so far.

Born from the desire of fifteen companies to help the rural and unprotected heritage,

according to the expression of one of the founding members, Bertrand de Feydeau, the Foundation raised funds for some 32,000 buildings in 25 years.

Thanks to it, castles, churches, bridges, theaters, organs, wash houses and remarkable houses have raised their heads and brought in their wake a renewal of local life.

Read alsoAfter Notre-Dame, the Heritage Foundation wants to help endangered sites

Apart from the spectacular fundraising for Notre Dame de Paris - 232 million, or a quarter of the donations paid for the cathedral -, or the very media management of the funds of the heritage lottery and the Bern Mission, the foundation played a decisive role in the survival of small, little-known heritage, contributing to the maintenance of a territorial economy and local pride. According to a study by Pluricité, unveiled Thursday evening, all this has a resounding impact. One euro provided by the foundation for a restoration project generates 21 euros in economic benefits, during the construction period, but also more sustainably. In 2019, the expenses injected locally for the works (553 million euros, including 55 million euros ofaid granted by the Heritage Foundation) contributed to generating economic benefits of 1.2 billion euros.

The same study highlights 15,834 jobs created or maintained, including in the tourism sector, thanks to the restorations made possible by the Foundation. In 2018, in Villedieu, in the Vaucluse, the restoration of the facade of the Café du Center, dating from a century and a half, for example made it possible to transform the square of this Provencal village into a place of animation.

explains Adrien Zemour, who led the study.

he continues. Since then, the cafe proudly displays its old-fashioned red facade, and offers concerts, karaoke evenings or mussels and fries galore. And of the 37,024 euros, of private origin and mobilized by the foundation, 27,735 were allocated to companies in the department.

In Gignac en Quercy, in the Lot, the restoration of the windmill has enabled the 600 inhabitants to perpetuate a memory of craftsmanship. Unprotected, witness to a local history, since 2017 it has attracted 2,000 visitors a year. As for the church of Saint-Etienne de Lacanche, in Côte-d'Or, it owes its salvation to popular commitment and the heritage lottery. Linked to the old metallurgical industries, the only major building in this town of 561 inhabitants, it has since reopened its doors for ceremonies and local cultural events.

indicated a resident to Pluricité investigators.

Given the appetite of the French for their heritage, the Foundation, chaired by Guillaume Poitrinal, still has a bright future ahead of it.

Each year, it benefits from the dormant inheritance funds paid by Bercy (7 million euros), sums collected thanks to the heritage lottery and the Bern mission (27.7 million), public aid (39 million) and many sure, from the generosity of the public and patrons (26 million).

At the head of a war chest, or rather of a booty so much it is necessary to seek the money with the teeth, the Foundation counts on a network of 690 volunteers distributed in the 22 regions.