White Knights
collapsed, before the fire destroyed the church’s wooden roof. Thankfully, Notre Dame was saved from total destruction.
French president Emmanuel Macron vowed to rebuild the cathedral and immediately launched an international fundraising campaign for its restoration. Within days, more than €1b was raised from some of the country’s wealthiest families, among them François-Henri Pinault of Kering, which owns fashion labels including Gucci and Saint Laurent, who started the ball rolling with a €100m donation; while Bernard Arnault of LVMH, home to such brands as Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, gave €200m.
The lightning speed of how
