The Notre-Dame reconstruction and fundraising, also spearheaded by Macron, amassed €846 million — including €100 million from billionaire François-Henri Pinault and a combined €200 million from the French luxury goods giant LVMH and a holding company controlled by its main owner, the Arnault family.
In his speech, Macron didn’t mention who could be involved in future fundraising operations, but underlined how the new project would benefit several other nearby institutions, including La Samaritaine, an iconic Parisian department store owned by LVMH; the Cartier Foundation, a contemporary art museum owned by the eponymous conglomerate that is moving near the Louvre from its current location in Montparnasse; and Pinault’s art collection, which is displayed at the nearby site of the former Parisian stock exchange.
A press representative for one of the aforementioned groups, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss potential donation opportunities, said no investment plan had been finalized but that “this is the type of project we get involved in.”
But despite Macron’s promises, the Louvre project could end up costing French taxpayers if patrons deduct their donations from their taxes.
The current law — which a 2018 Cour des Comptes report described as “one of the most generous in the world” — allows companies to deduct from their taxes 60 percent of the amount they donate up to €2 million and 40 percent above that threshold. Those tax mechanisms are unpopular with Macron’s leftist opposition and, according to the report, mostly benefit “very large companies” like LVMH.
And while major donors to Notre-Dame like Pinault and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said that their contributions wouldn’t be deducted from their taxes, it’s unclear if similar promises will be made this time around.
