Notre Dame fire -

[florida]

low_48

Notre Dame doesn't belong to the Catholic Church but to the French government. The church rents the building on a long term lease. One of the reason for the restoration was the constant fighting between church and state over what needs to be done and who will pay for it. 

[Bruno of NH]

The Vatican only offered expertise in renovations. 
That made me chuckle. 
I did a lot for the student center .
I can believe but do it in my own way. 
Give back to the right places. 

[low_48]

low_48

Notre Dame doesn't belong to the Catholic Church but to the French government. The church rents the building on a long term lease. One of the reason for the restoration was the constant fighting between church and state over what needs to be done and who will pay for it.

I didn't know that. I've read it was a Roman Catholic gem, they hold mass there, and it was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. I just assumed. When did the French government assume ownership? Edit: Found this in Time magazine, [color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941)]Under France's strict secular laws, the government owns the cathedral, and the Catholic archdiocese of Paris uses it permanently for free. The priests for years believed the government should pay for repairs, since it owned the building. But under the terms of the government's agreement, the archdiocese is responsible for Notre Dame's upkeep, with the Ministry of Culture giving it about €2 million ($2.28 million) a year for that purpose. Staff say that money covers only basic repairs, far short of what is needed. Without a serious injection of cash, some believe, the building will not be safe for visitors in the future. Now the archdiocese is seeking help to save Notre Dame from yielding to the ravages of time.[/color]

[dgdrls]

Well, the sawmills are getting busy

https://tekdeeps.com/en-images-the-sawing-of-oaks-for-the-reconstruction-of-the-spire-of-notre-dame-de-paris-has-started/

D

[RPF2509]

last year I saw a brief video of the oak trees being cut for the Cathedral.  Impressive trees - 200+ years old, most 36"+ dbh, few limbs for the first 75', no forks.  The stand was full of nice trees but they were very selective, cutting only those that were needed for specific locations.  If I remember rightly, they were cut for the tower.

[maple flats]

When built originally I've heard it took 200 years, Nowadays it may be finished in maybe 10 or less. Just a guess.