HOPE WINTER
Special to The Leader
Last Monday, tragedy struck a piece of history as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames. The world recognizable medieval wooden roof caught fire after what is speculated to be an accident during renovations to the roof and spire.
According to CNN, the roof was called “The Forest” because it was entirely made up of timber from ancient oak trees which were cut down in 1160.
As the Notre Dame Cathedral burned, and the world sat and watched as the spiral collapsed, ancient stained glass windows melted to the floor and the people of Paris witnessed centuries of their history burning.
Fredonia junior, Mark Grover, studied abroad in France this past fall semester.
“Having personally experienced the beauty that the cathedral evoked and learning about the historical significance of this grand building, I was heartbroken to hear of its collapse,” said Grover. “Having a monument such as this fall due to an electrical mishap is very saddening. Je pense que les Français va le rebâtir mieux qu’avant!”
Which, when translated, means, “I think the French will rebuild it better than before.”
Again, so far nothing has been confirmed regarding the cause of the fire.
Due to minor restoration and renovation, many of its famous statues and artifacts were removed prior to the fire and are safe. According to BBC News, King Louis IX’s golden crown of thorns was safely removed during the fire, as firefighters made a human chain to obtain it and other pieces of history.
According to BBC news, “The last time the cathedral suffered major damage was during the French Revolution. It survived two world wars largely unscathed. Watching such an embodiment of the permanence of a nation burn and its spire collapse is profoundly shocking to any French person.”
However, this fire is just another chapter of its history. Costing over $1 billion to repair, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, plans on rebuilding the cathedral in five years.
In the days since, the mission to rebuild Notre Dame has already funded the one billion dollars. Now the head of the project is saying that it may even cost more.
The immediacy of the funding from multiple corporations and countries from around the world has made the Notre Dame funding receive major backlash on social media.
Amber Mattice, a senior journalism major, who studied abroad in Italy but visited Paris said, “I was really emotional when I found out that it was on fire. My heart hurt when I saw that the spire had collapsed. On another note, it is a frustrating to see so much money being poured into rebuilding Notre Dame when there are people and species suffering across the planet that we could help, easily, with the millions of dollars that have been donated. I was heartbroken to see Notre Dame collapsing, but there are other important issues across the world that I wish people showed more compassion for.”
France is experiencing a major time of division. The Yellow Vest rioting is based on the government raising gas prices so the French population would switch to driving more environmental friendly cars to help save the environment. Riots have taken over multiple towns and cities in France every day.
However, if the country puts that much effort into environmental change, the media is questioning why they wouldn’t take that much action into funding towards reducing climate change.
Scrolling through Twitter and Instagram last Tuesday, one sees how many lives the fire at Notre Dame hurt around the world. However, whether the restoration of the medieval cathedral is France’s main priority while they’re on the verge of revolution remains a question.