Notre-Dame rebuilding fund: €850 million promised, €38 million received

The Catholic archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, has announced that the total amount of money so far collected to finance the reconstruction of the fire-damaged cathedral represents slightly more than five percent of the amount promised.

A general view of damage inside Notre-Dame in the aftermath of the fire. REUTERS/Christophe Petit Tesson

In mid-May, Fanck Riester, the French culture minister, estimated at 850 million euros the total amount promised to the rebuilding fund.

This week, the Catholic archbishop confirmed that a total of 38 million euros had actually been received. But he said he remained confident that more money will be forthcoming. "It always takes time to get money from the big contributors," he said.

Four separate organisations are responsible for collecting money offered to the re-building fund. They are the National Monuments Centre, the Notre-Dame Foundation, the Heritage Foundation and the French Foundation.

Archbishop Aupetit explained that the immediate work undertaken to protect the damaged structure, and the salaries of the staff currently on site, were being paid from a fund of four million euros collected by a group called the Friends of Notre-Dame. That group was established to ensure the renovation of the cathedral, before the disastrous fire.