Greece's government has offered France assistance in restoring fire damage to Notre Dame cathedral.
The culture ministry says Greece is willing to provide academic experts and skilled technicians from its own restoration projects if help is needed.
The ministry has extensive experience with major conservation and restoration works on Greece's ancient and medieval monuments.
These include a decades-long program on the Acropolis of Athens, whose 2,500-year-old marble temples and other monumental buildings were badly damaged over the centuries by fire, explosions and warfare.
A ministry statement Tuesday expressed deep sorrow for the Notre Dame blaze.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is urging his countrymen and others in Europe to contribute to the rebuilding of Notre Dame cathedral following a devastating fire.
Steinmeier said Tuesday that the footage of the landmark Paris building burning would "probably leave no one in Europe untouched."
He called for "the citizens of this country and the whole of Europe to support the reconstruction of Notre Dame."
Steinmeier added that the cathedral "is not only a great building, it is a great European landmark, a landmark of European culture and an important document of European history."
French companies Total and L'Oreal are pledging to each donate 100 million euros ($113 million) to support the reconstruction of Notre Dame cathedral.
La famille Bettencourt Meyers & le Groupe L'Oréal ont décidé de participer à la renaissance de #NotreDame et annoncent un don de 100 millions d'euros au fonds dédié à la reconstruction de ce symbole du patrimoine français et de notre histoire commune ➡ https://t.co/ukPCZaaUgA pic.twitter.com/pRR2zpRhYv
— L'Oréal Group (@Loreal) April 16, 2019A few hours after billionaire tycoons Bernard Arnault and Francois Pinault announced Tuesday that they would give a total of 300 million euros, oil and gas giant Total said it would contribute 100 million euros "to help the reconstruction of this architectural jewel."
Cosmetics maker L'Oreal promised the same amount to rebuild "a symbol of French heritage and of our common history."
Among other contributors, Bouygues construction group CEO Martin Bouygues said he and his brother Olivier would donate 10 million euros.
French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a Cabinet meeting Wednesday fully dedicated to the aftermath of the fire at Notre Dame cathedral.
The French presidency says a morning session will be followed by one in the afternoon focusing on the national fund-raising campaign and the reconstruction work.
Macron is to speak by phone with Pope Francis later Tuesday.
The French leader has postponed a speech and a news conference aimed at responding to the yellow vest crisis for an indefinite period, to respect "a moment of great national emotion." Macron was initially planning to announce measures this week addressing the concerns of anti-government protesters.
The French Bishops' Conference says that the bells of all cathedrals across the country will ring on Wednesday at 6:50 p.m. local time (1850 GMT; 12:50 p.m. EST), the time when the fire started Monday at Notre Dame in Paris.
The Bishops' Conference said Tuesday in a statement that this will show the solidarity of all dioceses toward Paris and that the fire at Notre Dame "is a shock that affects far beyond just the Catholics of our country."
France counts 103 Catholic cathedrals.
France's culture minister says the "most precious treasures" of Paris' Notre Dame cathedral have been saved after a devastating fire, including the crown of thorns Catholic relic and the tunic of Saint Louis.
Culture Minister Franck Riester told reporters outside Notre Dame that other works are being transferred from a storeroom in City Hall to the Louvre on Tuesday and Wednesday. There they will be dehumidified, protected and eventually restored.
He said that the cathedral's greatest paintings will be removed starting Friday. He said, "We assume they have not been damaged by the fire but there will eventually be damage from the smoke."
Monday's fire destroyed the cathedral roof and collapsed the spire.
European Union chief Donald Tusk says the message of encouragement to France after the Notre Dame cathedral fire should be that "it's not the end of the world" and that the damage will be repaired.
Tusk told Polish reporters Tuesday in Strasbourg after a European Parliament debate on Brexit that it was the duty of all Europeans and all Poles to give France courage after this "dramatic" event.
Recalling his native Poland's efforts to rebuild its cities, many reduced to rubble, after World War II, Tusk said that his compatriots "have the right and the duty to say — You will manage, this is not the end of the world."
The director of UNESCO says expert work must be carried out immediately to protect Notre Dame Cathedral's remaining structure after a devastating fire.
Audrey Azoulay told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it's too early to say whether the treasured rose windows of Notre Dame are unscathed because art experts haven't been able to study the site yet after Monday's apparently accidental fire.
She said "the first 24, 48 hours" are crucial to protecting the stone and wood structure from water damage and assessing next steps. She warned that parts of the cathedral remain "extremely fragile," notably hundreds of tons of scaffolding set up around the cathedral spire that collapsed.
She said Notre Dame has "a particular place in the world's collective imagination." Notre Dame is part of a UNESCO heritage site that includes the surrounding quais and islands, and UNESCO has offered its expertise to help rebuild.
-AP
