[neverevergiveup]

“Sad thing is, if this was in fact simply a horrific accident, the French government has lied and obfuscated so much about past terrorist incidents, a lot of folks ain’t gonna believe anything the French say.”

I read that the Cathedral is owned by the French government, and had been in horrible disrepair - with pieces of stone falling off etc. It was estimated it would cost ~$180 million to repair it, and the French government only have $50 million. The rest had to be raised. Sounds to me like it was neglected for a fairly long time. That is really sad.

[mewzilla]

Meanwhile, a source on the two fires....

Un incendie ravage la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (MàJ : deux foyers d’incendie auraient été repérés)

[Windflier]

Sounds to me like it was neglected for a fairly long time.

When I visited Notre Dame cathedral in 1989 I was struck by all the little indications of lackadaisical care of the property. I don't mean that it showed signs of neglect, but it looked to me like it wasn't being cared for to a degree befitting its historical value and cultural status.

It just seemed to me that the French had less regard and respect for this world class treasure than I did, and I'm neither French nor Catholic.