As the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica is undergoing renovations, activists from La France Insoumise are outraged by the financial support provided by local authorities. This ideological attack reveals a worrying lack of understanding of France's cultural foundations.
It's a vital restoration project: the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica, a spiritual and heritage emblem of Marseille, is undergoing €2,8 million in renovations. To secure the building and restore the splendor of the gold-leaf-covered statue, the diocese has solicited donations... and received financial support from local authorities. The city, metropolitan area, department, and region have granted €1,7 million in aid. This mobilization is deemed unacceptable by LFI activists in Bouches-du-Rhône, who denounce a "shower of public money" for the benefit of a religious building.
But the anger of the rebels is not unanimous. Many elected officials, of all persuasions, have defended this support for a place steeped in history. "Shame on you! Attacking the Bonne Mère!" lashed Martine Vassal, president of the department and the metropolitan area. She accuses LFI of "disgusting communitarianism" and points out that Notre-Dame de la Garde is part of the soul of Marseille. The same tone was echoed by Mayor Benoît Payan, who describes the basilica as a "heritage and cultural jewel" and a "symbol of our city."
What LFI seems to forget is that France is a Christian nation in its roots, in its culture, in its identity. It is the Republic that is secular, not the country itself. And maintaining churches is maintaining the history of France. Support for religious monuments, even if they belong to private institutions, is not only legal, but legitimate since they contribute to the collective heritage. To reject this principle in the name of circumstantial anticlericalism is to demonstrate sectarianism from another age.
