Paris - Pledged donations from French
billionaires, companies and ordinary citizens for the
restoration of fire-ravaged Notre Dame cathedral are approaching
900 million euros after just two days, a reflection of the
landmark's resonance in the national psyche.
But the outpouring has prompted questions from charities,
politicians and commentators about why some of the business
donors have offered so much so quickly, including speculation
about how they might benefit from tax breaks on the donations.
People on social media, both in France and abroad, have
expressed frustration that other disasters - from the Syrian and
Iraq refugee crisis to the Grenfell Tower fire in London - have
not received anything like the same degree of support.
The first major donation to Notre Dame came from
Francois-Henri Pinault, the billionaire head of luxury goods
group Kering that owns fashion brands Gucci and Saint
Laurent.
Pinault, 56, a celebrity figure in part because he is
married to actress Salma Hayek, pledged 100 million euros ($113
million) as the blaze was still raging - a decision dictated by
emotion, a spokeswoman for his family's holding company said.
Hours later, his great rival Bernard Arnault, France's
richest man and the head of Louis Vuitton owner LVMH,
announced he was donating 200 million euros, moved by the
alarming pictures on TV, according to a group spokesman.
The Bettencourt-Meyer family, the largest shareholder in
L'Oreal, followed suit a while later, pledging a
combined 200 million euros alongside the global cosmetics group.
Brand and reputation experts said the quick response by some
of France's most recognisable corporate titans made sense,
especially since the disaster involves a national symbol.
Adrian Palmer, the head of the marketing and reputation
faculty at the Henley Business School, said all three
billionaire families and their companies were closely aligned
with the nation, and benefit from reinforcing the link.
"These brands stand for France and they sell around the
world, so anything that puts the France brand at the centre of
people's minds is going to help them and how they are regarded,"
he said. "It creates positive associations in people's minds,
that they are generous, caring and good."
Online, LVMH's announcement of the donations was met with a
host of comments on Twitter, from France and abroad, suggesting
the money might be better spent in Africa or combatting climate
change than rebuilding a cathedral. Others suggested the
generosity was little more than smart marketing.
Palmer said that even from a non-marketing point of view,
early offers of support could be beneficial for a company's
political positioning. All three firms are broadly supportive of
President Emmanuel Macron and want to be seen as helpful with
backing for his calls to rebuild.
"Macron has been facing protests," he said, referring to the
"yellow vests" street demonstrations against the high cost of
living that have rocked France for months. "In a sense the
disaster at Notre-Dame has become a unifying issue, so they want
to show they are aligned."
TAX BREAKS
Still, there has been blowback. Charitable donations benefit
from a 60 percent tax deduction in France, which prompted
immediate suggestions by critics that Pinault, Arnault and the
others were being less magnanimous than initially appeared.
"It's the public that will end up bearing the cost," said
Gilles Carrez, a member of parliament for the centre-right Les
Republicains party, who sits on the finance committee.
The Pinault family, which was at odds with Macron last year
on issues of tax and the president's policies towards the poor,
said in a statement on Wednesday it was renouncing any tax
advantage it might get from its donation.
LVMH - which had benefited from large tax breaks to build
the Louis Vuitton Foundation in western Paris - dismissed the
notion it was merely trying to boost its image.
"The only thing at issue here is to try and raise as much
funding as possible to address this urgent issue, and that goes
beyond any tax or accounting calculations," the LVMH group
spokesman said in response to questions from Reuters.
The Bettencourt-Meyer family has declined to comment on its
donations.
All three companies and the families behind them are already
closely associated with the arts and cultural giving in France,
which makes their rapid collective offer of half a billion euros
to support a 12th-century Gothic masterpiece less surprising.
"No doubt big brands want to genuinely demonstrate their
empathy and show support to the re-building of an artefact that
is not just a building but a cultural symbol," said Keith
Glanfield, a professor at Aston Business School.
"By some this may be seen as no more than a cynical attempt
to sell more product."
FROM THE GUT
On Twitter and Facebook, and in the auditorium of the
European Parliament, the question was less about whether they
and others should give, and more about why such generosity was
going towards an old building hit by a disaster in which no one
died.
"We are very attached to where Father Pierre's funeral was
held," said the Abbe Pierre Foundation, a homelessness charity
named after a priest whose 2007 funeral at Notre-Dame was
attended by then-President Jacques Chirac.
"But we are equally committed to his cause. If you could
contribute even one percent of the amount to the homeless, we
would be moved," it said on Twitter.
Speaking to European lawmakers on Tuesday, teenage climate
campaigner Greta Thunberg said she did not want to diminish the
Notre-Dame fire, but wished there was an equal outpouring of
support to combat issues such as climate change.
Markus Renner, a professor of brand management in
Switzerland and the founder of the International Brand and
Reputation Community, said he was surprised to see Pinault,
Arnault and the Bettencourts give so much so quickly.
"Why not wait and find out how much is needed and then step
forward?" he said, pointing out that the billionaires and
companies could have given the money silently, but chose not to.
"It seems to be a little bit tactical and very much from the
gut," he said, adding he doubted whether German companies would
step up so promptly if Cologne cathedral burnt down.
If the fire ends up being covered by insurance, the
charitable donations may not end up being needed to finance the
restoration.