Notre Dame Cathedral was still burning Monday when the pledges began to flood in.
“This tragedy is striking all the French people, and beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values. Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as possible,” said luxury titan François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering and chairman of his family’s investment arm, Artémis, as the fire continued to burn into the night.
He added in a statement that he and his father, François Pinault, would contribute 100 million euros ($113 million) of Artémis funds “as of now to take part to the effort needed to fully rebuild Notre Dame de Paris.”
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and the Arnault family also pledged funds and assistance.
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“The Arnault family and LVMH Group, in solidarity with this national tragedy, are committed to assist with the reconstruction of this extraordinary cathedral, symbol of France, its heritage and its unity,” LVMH said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The Arnault family and the group will donate 200 million euros to a fund to reconstruct the work of architecture, it said, referring to the monument as a “core part of the French history.”
“In the meantime, the LVMH Group puts at the disposal of the state and the relevant authorities all its teams — including creative, architectural and financial specialists — to help with the long work of reconstruction and fundraising, which is already in progress,” it added.
Firefighters said the fire had been extinguished a little before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, according to AFP. Around 400 firefighters were mobilized, and two policemen and a fireman were slightly injured, according to Paris firefighters.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
