French cathedral bells ring in tribute to devastated Notre Dame

BELLS of cathedrals across France rang in a moving tribute to Notre Dame yesterday as firefighters and experts continued to keep the beloved but weakened landmark under close surveillance.

From Sacre Coeur in Paris to the cities of Strasbourg in the east and Rouen in the west, the architectural treasures of France solemnly marked the inferno, two days after it ravaged the gothic cathedral, widely regarded as the soul of France.

“I just arrived for the first ring of the bells and immediately there was an emotion. Incredible, indescribable, I just can’t explain it,” said Nadia Pascassio-Comte, in Strasbourg.

“It was beautiful and sad at the same time. I had tears in my eyes at one point, and I think that this solidarity is magical, it really unites a lot of people.”

At Saint Sulpice church, the second-largest house of worship in Paris, French first lady Brigitte Macron attended a special service for the annual blessing of the oils during Holy Week, ahead of Easter Sunday.

Meanwhile, a New Jersey man was arrested after entering New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral carrying two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighters, according to the New York Police Department.

The unidentified 37-yearold man had pulled up in a minivan outside the landmark cathedral on Fifth Ave in Manhattan, walked around the area, then returned to his vehicle and retrieved the gasoline and lighter fluid, said NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.

Security notified officers from the counter-terrorism bureau who were standing outside, Mr Miller said. The officers arrested the man after he was questioned.