That cathedral is property of the state and the Catholic church is only allowed to use it for its office, to be clear. Private (owned by the church) churches,

That cathedral is property of the state and the Catholic church is only allowed to use it for its office, to be clear. Private (owned by the church) churches, synagogues or mosques are not under that statute. But then they have to pay the maintenance themselves. Notre Dame is paid by public taxes so its fate and purpose are decided by the French public, not by the church, although of course its opinion is taken into account. It's the same reason many churches in other countries and up transformed into apartments, libraries or destroyed altogether when the Church can't pay for them anymore. It's not a question of "respect" for a religion or another.