Heritage sites receive first lottery payouts
18 emblematic sites receive first cheques after September's draw
The Heritage Loto has made its first payouts to 18 emblematic regional sites across France.
The €13m jackpot draw in September raised millions to help protest 269 of heritage sites across the country. Some 2.5million tickets were sold for the draw, while customers have bought more than 7million related scratchcard tickets.
Villa Viardot, in Ile-de-France, one of the 18 key sites identified by historian and TV personality Stéphane Bern, has received €500,000 in funding which has enabled it to launch a call for tenders for €3million in badly needed restoration work.
The remaining 251 sites eligible for lottery funding will receive their funds at a later date. All have submitted the necessary documents detailing their funding needs.
According to the Ministry of Action and Public Accounts, the Heritage Loto is expected to generate €200million in revenue. An expected €20million - more than the €15million initially envisaged - will go to the Fondation du patrimoine for heritage works, €144million has been assigned to prize money, and €22million to Française des Jeux (FDJ). The State collects €14million in taxes.
A financial needs assessment published in May 2018, a total €54.4million would be required to fully support a list of sites selected from the 269 that will benefit from lottery funding.
At the time the report was published, Célia Vérot, Executive Director of the Heritage Foundation, said: "We knew that the sum of the financing needs would be greater than the amount raised by the Lottery."
