The 200,000 or so hives of Notre-Dame hives survived the fire that ravaged the roof of the cathedral on Monday, as reactions from around the world poured out to worry about their fate. "The bees are alive.This morning, around 11am, I had no news," says to AFP the beekeeper Nicolas Géant who looks after the hives of Notre-Dame located on the sacristy adjoining Cathedral.
Concerns around the globe
"At first, I thought the three hives had burned, I had no information, but then I could see on the satellite images that this was not the case and the spokesman of the cathedral told me confirmed that they came in and out of hives, "he continues. Nicolas Géant has received messages and calls from all over the world asking if the bees had died in the flames. "It was unexpected, I received calls from Europe, of course, but also from South Africa, Japan, the United States and South America," he says.
In case of fire and at the first sign of smoke, the bees "gorged" honey and protect their queen. "This species (the European bee, ed) does not give up its hive.They do not have lungs but the CO2 puts them to sleep," explains Nicolas Géant, who hopes to see his bees again next week. Each hive produces an average of 25 kilos of honey each year, sold to the staff of Notre-Dame, who has been sheltering them since 2013.