ENTRANCE FEES BEING CONSIDERED FOR CHURCHES, HISTORICAL SITES

France should start charging for entry to its cathedrals and major churches, according to a newly-appointed heritage supremo.

Stephane Bern, 53, a television presenter who specializes in heritage and royalty, was recently tasked by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to find funds to prevent cultural and historical sites from falling into disrepair.

He said that French cities no longer had the means to maintain their religious heritage and called on the government to allow sites such as Notre Dame or the Sacre Coeur to charge.

“We urgently need to introduce an entrance fee for cathedrals. We’re the only country where it’s free,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.

“In London, the entrance fee for Westminster Abbey is 24 euros ($35).”

However, the suggestion sparked angry reactions from some quarters.

Nathalie Goulet, a French senator, tweeted to remind Bern that “to make people, pay to enter cathedrals is a violation of the 1905 law (separating Church from state) and a violation of equality before the law.”