PARIS - 'Mission Patrimoine', mission heritage, is the objective in France of a new lottery to save monuments at risk.



President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday presented the initiative at the Voltaire castle in Ferney, a symbol of tolerance and enlightenment at the French-Swiss border that has just been restored for nine million euros and will open its doors to the public at the weekend.



Conceived by a TV cultural journalist who is very famous in France, Stéphane Béarn, the 'Lotto of heritage', which includes a scratch card, vies to fund expenses to restore monuments that municipalities can't afford to pay on their own.



Overall, 18 locations - including religious and industrial buildings as well as architectural jewels and monuments - will have priority in the program. They include a 19th-century fortress, a small island off Bretagne, the house of writer Aimé Césaire in Martinique and a Roman aqueduct in western France.



A lottery with 15-euro tickets will also be organized in September.



The French government estimates revenues between 15 and 20 million euros from the initiative that will go to a specific fund for 'heritage sites at risk'.



On Thursday night, Macron will meet at the presidential palace with representatives of 269 projects selected and other activists working to protect the national heritage. (ANSAmed)