French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has pledged 100 million euros ($113 million) on Monday towards the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was partly gutted by a devastating fire.
In a statement sent to AFP, the CEO of the Kering group, which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent fashion houses, said the money towards “the effort necessary to completely rebuild Notre-Dame” would be paid by the Pinault family’s investment firm Artemis.
The catastrophic blaze destroyed the roof of the 850-year-old UNESCO world heritage landmark as horrified Parisians looked on – many in tears and praying – on Monday evening.
A visibly emotional Macron, spoke outside the Gothic cathedral and said a national fundraising campaign to restore Notre Dame would be launched Tuesday, as he called on the world’s ‘greatest talents’ to help.
He said:
‘We will appeal to the greatest talents and we will rebuild Notre-Dame because that’s what the French are waiting for, because that’s what our history deserves, because it’s our deepest destiny.’
Francois-Henri Pinault is married to Hollywood actress Salma Hayek.
