Conspiracy theories spread after the fire in the Notre Dame de Paris

The restoration work will take years and will cost hundreds of millions of euros.

panagia parision France, Damage, Conspiracy Theories, Catastrophe, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, FIRE, fire

Was it a terrorist attack? Maybe a distraction? Conspiracy theories and (fraudulent and not) interpretations that try to explain the fire in Notre Dame are multiplying at an accelerating rate since Monday night. The building was still on fire when coincidence hunters and self-proclaimed "experts" in medieval architecture began searching for the culprits. Although the investigation has just begun and is expected to be long, the first indications lead the French authorities to conclude that it was an accident. Many French people, however, some ironically, others suspiciously, found that the fire forced President Emanuel Macron to postpone his long-awaited sermon on "yellow vests" amid a social crisis. Some groups of "yellow vests" have decided to temporarily limit their posts on Facebook, so as not to continue this kind of rumors, which are constantly spreading.

An associate of his Time Magazine, on the other hand, wrote on Twitter that a "Jesuit friend" told him that officials of the cathedral spoke of a criminal act, of setting fire to the temple. But then he deleted this post. On the American television channel Fox News, a journalist cut off in the air an elected official from Neighborhood (western Paris), who started talking about an attack in France. He had begun to say that "the politically correct will make you believe it was an accident" when journalist Shepard Smith cut him short: "We will not start speculating here about causes we do not know. "Conspiracy theories have no interest and are even counterproductive." In the United States and South Korea, YouTube added fuel to the fire of conspiracies by mistakenly broadcasting an informational crawl under the images of the burning temple referring to the 11/2001 attacks.

Other internet users, supposedly "experts" in image analysis, saw a man dressed in a yellow vest walking on the burning roof of the temple. He was not a protester, he was just a firefighter. Others thought they saw someone on the other side of the roof staring at the flames in amazement: he was indeed motionless, for he was only a statue. In posts on social networking sites, some people were quick to say that the three huge rosettes of Notre Dame in Paris were broken into a thousand pieces. Wrong, they were saved, the representative of the temple answered this morning. Some linked the fire to the Gothic cathedral with violent incidents against Christians, recalling the arson that damaged the entrance to the Parisian church of St. Souplici in mid-March and the desecration of other French churches in early February.

panagia parision France, Damage, Conspiracy Theories, Catastrophe, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, FIRE, fire
(Photo: EPA / BENOIT MOSER / BSPP)

Politico-religious interpretations, and in fact very specific ones, presented some Serbian tabloids: the destruction was only a "divine intervention" because the flag of Kosovo was raised in the courtyard of the temple, during a ceremony in 2018. These articles were withdrawn very quickly . On the internet, some users thought that the fire was the "revenge" of some for a humorous tweet posted by a young Frenchman (with the characteristic name… Hugo) on the occasion of a photo of Mecca. Some Muslims found the post offensive, and Hugo has received a barrage of threats on social networking sites.

The cost and duration of the restoration of Notre Dame
How long will it take to restore the Notre Dame de Paris, how much will the damage repair project cost? Will this architectural gem rediscover the glamor lost in the flames on the night of April 15? This is the challenge and the big question of the next day for the French.

French President Emmanuel Macron said tonight in a televised address that the Notre Dame de Paris will be restored within five years.

The cost: It will depend on whether traditional techniques or new technologies will be used, but experts estimate that in each case it will amount to hundreds of millions of euros. Donations will probably cover the amount. "This time, we will not run out of money," said Stephen Byrne, a journalist known for his cultural shows on French television, referring to the difficulty of finding sponsors for other endangered cultural treasures.

Insurance; Regarding the payment of compensation and the future insurance of the temple, the discussion is long overdue. Who was responsible and for what exactly? To these questions is added the difficulty of determining the cause of the fire. When it will reopen to visitors: The interior of the cathedral may open relatively quickly. However, the arches must first be checked to confirm their stability. This is exactly what the authorities, the French Ministry of Culture and the Diocese wish, so that the church can function again for the faithful and the tourists within a reasonable period of time.

  • Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ.