仏パリのノートルダム大聖堂、観光客から入場料徴収案

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスでは今週、首都パリにある世界的に有名なノートルダム大聖堂への入場料を観光客から徴収する案が閣僚から挙がったが、パリ大司教区は２４日、この提案に反対する意見を提示した。（写真は、フランス・パリのノートルダム大聖堂を訪れる観光客）
　ラシダ・ダチ文化相は、２３日の保守系日刊紙フィガロにインタビュー記事で、パリ大司教に「象徴的な料金」の導入と、その収益を国の宗教遺産保全に充てることを提案をしたと述べた。
　この提案に対してパリ大司教区は２４日、同国のカトリック教会にとって「教会や大聖堂への無料入場」は重要な原則だとし、「無条件にすべての人を歓迎すること」は、教会の「使命」の一部であり、そのアクセスは「必然的に無料となる」との声明を発表した。
　ノートルダム大聖堂への入場料についてダチ氏は、国内の他の宗教施設を維持する方法の一つだとし、他の国々も同様の入場料を課していると指摘する。
　「欧州各国の主要な宗教建築物に入るためには料金を支払う必要がある」と述べ、１人当たり５ユーロ（約８２０円）を徴収すると、年間約７５００万ユーロ（約１２３億円）の収入になると推計した。
　「ノートルダム大聖堂はパリとフランスのすべての教会を救うことになる。それは素晴らしい象徴だ」
　ダチ氏はまた、国立記念物や博物館を訪れる欧州連合（ＥＵ）域外からの訪問者からはより多く徴収することを提案。「遺産修復の資金を捻出するため」に「自分たち（仏国民）ですべてを支払う必要はない」との考えを示した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/10/25-16:38）

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.
burs/tgb/ekf/jh/db