Paris seeks UNESCO cultural heritage status for distinctive zinc rooftops

NEWS WIRES

1 September 2024 at 5:09 am·1-min read

The French culture ministry wants to etch the unique zinc-plated rooftops of Paris and their workers in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Though iconic, the roofs are often criticised for their inadaptability to hot temperatures brought on by climate change.

The zinc covering the roofs of central Paris has given the French capital's skyline its distinctive grey hue for almost two centuries.

Now the roofs and the workers who create and care for them are aiming to enter a select heritage club to showcase a profession adapting to the challenges of climate change.

The French culture ministry has chosen the zinc roofers as the country's entry for the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage to be decided at the UN body's session in Paraguayan capital Asuncion in December.

The craftsmanship of roofers and other ornamentalists who have sculpted the capital's skyline will be among 67 candidacies vying to join other iconic heritage sites such as India's Taj Mahal.

According to the city's urbanism agency Apur, Paris has 128,000 roofs covering a surface area of 32 million square metres, of which 21.4 million are of the traditional zinc-covered variety.

(AFP)

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