Kitsch, Cons and Cameras: Rescuing Paris' Panthéon

Outside it was raining, but down deep in the crypt it was merely chilly. The slightly fey, round-spectacled chief of historic monuments, and the kindly young hipster "artist" in shades and a plastic hat explained to the mostly docile klatch of reporters France's new plan to save the Panthéon, Paris' most hallowed tomb. To the left of us stood a statue of Voltaire, the great defender of free speech and misogyny, while on the right hung the image of Rousseau, the first great philosopher of democr...