The city owns 85 Catholic and nine Protestant churches
as well as two synagogues - all taken over in 1905 at the separation of
Church and state - and it is responsible for their upkeep.
The US-based
World Monuments Fund recently placed two Paris churches on its global
list of endangered monuments. Local associations published a list of the
10 most rundown churches.
When city councillors from the conservative opposition
brought up the issue, the city’s Socialist administration said it had
spent 11 million euros per year on church repairs since 2001 (when the
current mayor Bartrand Delanoe was first elected), more, they said, than
the previous conservative administration (of Jean Tiberi).
Socialist mayoral candidate Anne Hidalgo promised to
boost city spending on church upkeep if she wins the elections scheduled
for next March, while conservative candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
said she would also seek private funds to help expand the maintenance
programme.