French ministers have raised the idea of charging tourists to enter Paris' world-famous Notre-Dame cathedral when it opens in December after a five-year restoration, a proposal that drew a rebuke from the city's diocese on Thursday.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati said she had suggested implementing a "symbolic charge" during a conversation with Paris' Catholic archbishop, with proceeds dedicated to conserving the country's religious heritage.
But for the Paris diocese, "free admission to churches and cathedrals" is an important principle for the Catholic Church in France, it said.
"Welcoming every man and woman unconditonally" is part of the Church's "mission," wrote the diocese in a Thursday press release, adding access is "therefore necessarily free of charge".
An entry fee to Notre-Dame is a way of maintaining other religious sites in France, said Dati, noting other countries charge similar admission prices.
"Across Europe, people have to pay to get into the most remarkable religious buildings," Dati told conservative daily Le Figaro in an interview published late Wednesday.
A five-euro-per-person charge would bring in around 75 million euros ($81 million) a year, the culture minister estimated.
"Notre-Dame would be saving every church in Paris and in France. It would be a magnificent symbol."
Dati was backed up by her conservative colleague Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who recalled paying five euros to visit the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona.
Charging would be worth it "if for five euros we can save religious heritage that people may cherish whether they believe or not... it's just part of the French landscape," Retailleau told broadcaster France Inter.
Dati also suggested charging visitors from outside the European Union more to visit French national monuments and museums "to finance renovating our national heritage".
"The French public shouldn't have to pay for everything by themselves," she added.
Gutted by a fire in 2019, Notre-Dame is set to reopen on December 7 after a vast reconstruction effort.
France was the world's most visited country in 2023, according to the UN's World Tourism Organization, with around 100 million arrivals -- beating out Spain, the US, Italy, and Turkey in the top five.
