Nissan will donate 100,000 euros ($112,000) in order to help rebuild the recently damaged 850-year old Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The Japanese carmaker is also trying to repair its relationship with Renault and the French government.
Nissan’s pledge is “in recognition of and appreciation for Nissan Europe and Renault employees as well as the people of France,” said the automaker in a statement last week, as reported by Autonews Europe.
So far, a wide range of major companies and wealthy individuals have committed more than $1 billion in total to rebuild one of France’s most important landmarks. Parts of the cathedral were destroyed by a blaze earlier this month, while it was undergoing renovations. Thankfully, no lives were lost during the fire.
French president Emmanuel Macron vowed to rebuild Notre Dame, with French luxury and cosmetic billionaires and their companies quickly uniting to raise some 500 million euros ($562 million). Macron’s timeline for the rebuilding process will be five years – although getting it done that quickly will be no easy task.
Right now, Nissan and Renault are trying to move past ongoing issues, following the arrest of former group chairman Carlos Chosn, currently awaiting trial in a Tokyo prison. Ghost, who has denied allegations against him, was arrested back in November on charges of financial misconduct.
Prior to that, he was pushing to further solidify the alliance, raising fears in Japan that the French state’s influence would become far too great, at Nissan’s expense.
