Notre-Dame belongs to the French state, which had been paying little to no attention to a gothic jewel that traversed eight centuries.
Fragments of arcades, chimeras, reliefs, gargoyles were always falling to the ground and kept in an improvised deposit in the back of the cathedral.
Only last year Notre-Dame got a check for 2 million euros to restore the spire – which burned to the ground yesterday.
To restore the whole cathedral would have cost 150 million euros, according to the top world expert on Notre-Dame, who happens to be an American, Andrew Tallon.
Recently, the custodians of the cathedral and the French state were actually at war.
The French state was making at least 4 million euros a year, charging tourists to enter the Twin (Bell) Towers but putting back only 2 million euros for the maintenance of Notre-Dame.
The rector of Notre-Dame refused to charge for a ticket to enter the cathedral – as it happens, for example, at the Duomo in Milan.
Hey, France and Britain didn't want to miss out on this whirlwind opportunity, to get its weapons sold to the Saudi military, no matter that the final outcomes of these sales...looked like this... (warning; this may a "lose your lunch" moment, unless you love to see dead, and dying, children):
Images: Yemeni kids, murdered or crippled for life, courtesy of US/Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Horrifying images of starving children (courtesy of the Saudi/US port blockade)
YeImages: Yemeni children dying of cholera, because all the clean water systems have been systematically destroyed, courtesy of US/Saudi bombing
And I challenge France's President Macron, and the US President, President Trump, to really look at these images; if you are not moved by them, you have lost any small shred of humanity you might have once had, but got surgically removed, when it was time for your first run at office.
Which, of course, leads us to the Next Big War; the coming war with Iran.
President Trump, you have been "Boltonized" into believing that such a war would be "good" for the US, when the mechanics of what has happened here, is that you have simply outsourced your Middle East policy to Israel, and let them have free-reign control over US policy in the region; this means infinitely more bloodshed, and a possible US resurrection of the draft in this country.
To President Macron and President Trump; there are times when US, French, and Israeli policy need to align; but gentlemen, I swear to you both, that this is one moment, in your political careers, when that is the worst possible thing you could do to the people you represent.