Pete Buttigieg responds to the Notre-Dame fire in perfect French
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has just set the gold standard when it comes to responding to the devastating fire at Paris' famous Notre-Dame cathedral.
Speaking to a reporter for French station BFM TV, Buttigieg, who is currently the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, delivered his condolences and solidarity with the French people in perfect, fluent French.
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Loosely translated, Buttigieg's message was, "To the people of France I would like to say that Notre-Dame Cathedral was like a gift to the human race. We share the pain but we also thank you for this gift to civilization."
Buttigieg later shared a very similar sentiment on Twitter as he shared a message from Gérard Araud, French ambassador to the U.S. thanking Buttigieg for his kind words.
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Buttigieg speaks seven languages, and his message of hope stood in stark contrast to President Trump's suggestion of using flying water tankers.
As of Tuesday morning, a pair of French billionaires have already pledged over $330 million dollars to aid the restoration of the cathedral which lost its spire and roof in the fire. Damage assessment of the centuries-old cathedral will continue in the coming days.
Topics Politics
Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.