"The history of France burned down": a fire broke out in Notre Dame de Paris

On the evening of Monday, April 15, a fire broke out in Notre Dame de Paris. The fire occurred at about 18:50 (19:50 Moscow time) on the upper levels of the building.

According to preliminary information, the incident is connected with the restoration of the building. During the first hour of the fire, the spire of the building collapsed, and the roof and the clock later collapsed.

Soon the fire spread to one of the towers of the cathedral. Still later, firefighters said that the flame had reached the supporting structures of wood.

This circumstance has complicated the fight against fire, since the structural part of the cathedral is largely made of extremely dry wood, whose age is estimated in centuries. At the same time, the emergency services stated that it was impossible to extinguish the fire using aviation because of the risk of the building collapsing.

The police cordoned off the space on the Ile de la Cité, where the cathedral and the historic district of the city are located. Subsequently, local authorities decided to evacuate the inhabitants of this part of Paris to temporary reception centers.

French President Emmanuel Macron first expressed condolences in connection with the fire through social networks, and later he arrived at the scene of the incident. He postponed a televised address to the nation, which was to be held at 8:00 pm local time.

Edouard Philip joined the head of state at the site of the fire. Shortly before this, he positively responded to the work of firefighters.

“Our sorrow is beyond words, but we are still in battle. Tonight, firefighters heroically fight against fire in order to preserve what they can, ”the French prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Notre tristesse est au mots mais nous sommes encore dans le combat. Ce soir les pompiers se battent, héroïques, contre le feu, pour préserver ce qui peut l'être. #NotreDame

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the fire at Notre Dame de Paris.

Firefighters hold the opinion that the fire fighting in Notre-Dame will last until the morning of April 16.

Macron later said that the worst-case scenario was avoided and most of the building was saved, but in the incident, he said, “the very history of France burned down”. He admitted that the upcoming hours of fighting fire would be difficult.

“The symbol of France and our European culture is on fire”

The fire in one of the main attractions of Paris led to the reaction of a number of world leaders and major politicians. One of the first about the incident, said US President Donald Trump. He urged the French authorities not to delay the extinguishing of the fire.

“It is terrible to see a huge fire in Notre Dame de Paris in Paris. Perhaps you should use fire-fighting aircraft to put out the fire. It is necessary to act immediately! ”The head of the White House wrote on Twitter.

Not in Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also commented on the events in Paris, but her words were quoted by the official representative of the German Cabinet Steffen Seibert.

“With deep sadness, I watch the events in Paris. I am very sorry to see the symbol of France and our European culture on fire. Our thoughts are directed to our French friends, ”Merkel said in a statement to Seibert.

British Prime Minister Theresa May also published words of support for the people of France.

“My thoughts are with the people of France and the emergency services who are fighting with a terrible flame in Notre Dame Cathedral,” wrote May on Twitter.

I wouldn’t like to be able to fight the terrible blaze at the Notre-Dame cathedral.

In turn, the Vatican said it was shocked by the fire in Notre Dame. This was told by the temporary head of the press service of the Holy See Alessandro Gizotti.

“The Holy See is shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible news of the terrible fire devastating the Church of Our Lady of Paris, which is a symbol of Christianity in France and in the whole world,” said Gizotti.

"This is a huge loss, a huge wound"

Representatives of Notre Dame in the first hours after the fire expressed the assumption that the fire will not be able to damage the treasury of the cathedral, which houses many relics. Later it became known that part of the values ​​was saved.

“We saved the crown of thorns, the tunic of St. Louis. Inside, we also managed to save several paintings, but it was not easy to remove the large canvases, ”the representative of Notre Dame quotes BFM as saying.

However, the deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire acknowledged that the damage will be significant. The representative of the city administration expressed the hope that part of the masterpieces stored in the cathedral could be saved.

“Of course, this is a primary priority - to save the masterpieces of art to the maximum and move them under protection. I hope that we will have good news on this subject, but the damage is certainly considerable, ”BFM TV quotes Gregoire as saying.

The head of the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of France, Eric de Moulin-Beaufort, said that the restoration work after the fire in the cathedral could last for years.

"We will need years and years of restoration work, this is a huge loss, a huge wound," he wrote on Twitter.

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In turn, the press attache of the same organization, Olivier Ribado Dumas, called on the French state to start the restoration of the damaged cathedral as soon as possible. He noted that the cause of the fire is still unknown, but the fire should be considered in connection with the restoration of the building.

“I hope this happens as soon as possible. This monument is a legacy and belongs to France. So the state must first take care of its restoration, and then the Catholic Church and all the French will join in, ”Dumas told RIA Novosti.

In turn, Emmanuel Macron stressed that “the best talents of our time” will be involved in the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.