I could understand the people of France being concerned with how their tax dollars are being spent, but when it comes to wealthy individuals stepping up and deciding how they want to spend their own money I fail to see the problem. Do you (and everyone else on this thread) like people telling you how to spend your money?
On a more practical front: restoring a national treasure has multiple benefits to its country of origin, while donating vast sums of money to poor people has almost none.
ND is a beacon of the western civilization, if it hasn't been for that, no internet, no infrastructure nothing but dark ages. Was there a dark side too? sure there was, horrible acts has been committed in the name of God, however that is how religion works, until the human race reach a point where they wake up and understand how it all works you will see manipulation of the masses.
We live in very interesting times, huge parts of the "masses" are waking up from their slumbering, and still some are not fully awake, it will take some time, however if you like freedom, with all its flaws, you will know we are in the right direction.
Burning of christian symbols is an attack on the western belief system, it's like removing statues of dead people we suddenly dont like, because reasons. We should not destroy our history, we should remember it, the good, the bad and the ugly part of it, because knowing the past we can only change the future.
PS: A guy was arrested in the US walking into a church with gasoline and lighter gas, he was stopped by the guards and arrested by the police.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/man...s-inside-new-yorks-st-patricks-cathedral.html