IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES
It was under the eyes of a horrified and incredulous crowd that the Notre-Dame cathedral of Paris continued to burn in the night from Monday to Tuesday. Four hours later, firefighters were still trying to defeat the fire. Back in pictures on an incident that caused an international emotion.
Around 7 pm, a violent fire, originally unknown, took in the attic of the building, and spread extremely fast.
An hour later, the iconic 93-meter spire collapsed.
Throughout the evening, Parisians gathered along the quays and on the bridges that lead to the island of the city, to watch the flames, some filming the fire with their phone, others praying.
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, who was to present his measures tonight out of the crisis of "yellow vests", postponed his televised speech scheduled at 20 hours. Very soon, the Head of State went on site, accompanied by Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, but also the President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez, and Franck Riester, Minister of Culture. On Twitter, the head of state said he shared "the emotion of a whole nation".
More than 400 firefighters were dispatched to the scene to fight the fire, with 18 fire hoses, from outside and inside the cathedral. At a press briefing shortly before 11 pm, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez said that the fire had "decreased in intensity". General Jean-Claude Gallet, commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, told him that the structure of Notre-Dame was "saved and preserved in its entirety". Nevertheless, the damage is important, the roof being "ravaged on two thirds".