France to restore Mexican monuments damaged by earthquakes

France's Minister of Culture, Françoise Nyssen and her Mexican counterpart, María Cristina García Cepeda , signed yesterday a cooperation agreement on cultural heritage in which France agreed to participate in the restoration of two “symbolic monuments” damaged during the September 2017 earthquakes .

Specifically, it will help restore the Church of St. Bernardine of Siena , in Xochimilco (Mexico City) and the Church of St Francis of Assisi , in Puebla, according to García Cepeda.

A group of French experts has already visited the locations to assess the damages and restoration works are expected to begin in the upcoming months.

The Mexican Minister of Culture stated the agreement strengthens Mexico's relations with France and thanked Nyssen and her country for the “support and union received from the French Government,” following the visit of France's Minister of Culture to Mexico last October.

For their part, the French Ministry confirmed through a statement that the agreement is the “first stage in the cultural cooperation with Mexico.”

The agreement also promotes exchanges of restoration and conservation experts, focusing on the cultural heritage damaged by natural disasters.

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