‘EVERYTHING IS BURNING’
CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO NOTRE DAME, THE SOUL OF PARIS.
The heart of Paris was torn asunder Monday night as a fire ripped through Notre dame cathedral and gutted europe’s most loved historic monument.
Bystanders from around the world cried out as the 12th century Gothic masterpiece’s beloved spire — one of the highest points of the capital — came crashing to the ground in flames. Tears were shed as burning ash fell over the Île de la Cité, the original island that housed the earliest Parisian settlement.
Crowds of stunned Parisians could do little but offer prayers from the banks of the Seine, singing Je vous salue Marie, the French equivalent of Hail Mary, as the flames raged higher.
Cathedral spokesman André Finot said the building had sustained “colossal damage” and that the medieval wooden interior — an engineering and artistic marvel that has inspired awe and wonder for the millions who have visited over the centuries — had been gutted.
“everything is burning,” he said. “Nothing will remain from the frame.”
Victor Hugo helped save the cathedral almost two centuries ago by immortalizing the edifice in his novel The Hunchback of Notre dame.
Monday night, the French deputy interior minister said saving it was “not certain,” but later firefighters appeared to have saved the cathedral’s landmark rectangular towers.
emmanuel Macron, the French president, said, “The worst has been avoided although the battle is not yet totally won.”
Some 400 firefighters appeared powerless to prevent the blaze from spreading after it broke out at 6:50 p.m. local time. despite reaching the scene within 10 minutes, their hoses could not reach the highest parts of the cathedral from 30-metre-high ladders that were dwarfed by a tower three times that size.
Jean-claude Gallet, the fire chief, said they were not sure they would be able to stop the fire from spreading, after it engulfed the roof and spire. Nobody was hurt in the blaze.
In a tragic twist, it appears the blaze began on scaffolding near the top of the building as major renovation works, intended to save the building from collapse, got under way. French media quoted the Paris fire brigade as saying the fire is “potentially linked” to a six million-euro ($9 million) renovation project on the church’s spire and its 250 tons of lead. Last week, footage showed workers removing 16 copper statues from the spire.
Christine Moreau, a Parisian, choked back tears as she said, “It’s tragic. Notre dame is part of the heart of Paris and part of our hearts too. Why couldn’t more have been done to put out the blaze?”
“This is really sad — the saddest thing I’ve ever stood and watched in my life,” said Sam Ogden, a British tourist. “It looked tiny to begin with, then within an hour it all came down.”
Anne Hidalgo, the Paris mayor, said, “No words can described the pain I feel in seeing Notre dame ravaged by flames. Tonight, all Parisians and French mourn this emblem of our common history.” She said that Paris, however, would find the force to rebuild the edifice from its motto: “Fluctuat nec mergitur” (Tossed by the waves but does not sink).
The majority of the cathedral’s artifacts, including the Crown of Thorns — a relic believed by some to be the crown worn by Christ at the Crucifixion — and the Holy sacraments, were reportedly saved from inside the main building.
Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, Notre dame is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages as well as one of the most beloved structures in the world. Its architecture is famous for, among other things, its many gargoyles and its iconic flying buttresses.
Among the most celebrated artworks inside are its three stained-glass rose windows, placed high up on the west, north and south faces of the cathedral. But as the flames failed to abate, it appeared that the cathedral’s famous stained glass windows had melted.
Some in the crowd were angry that helicopters or planes had not been brought in to spray the flames from above, a sentiment echoed in remarks by donald Trump, the u.s. president. “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”
However, the Paris fire brigade swiftly responded: “dropping water on this type of building could cause the entire structure to collapse.”
Macron cancelled a television address to the nation Monday night in which he was due to set out the “first concrete measures” his government was going to take after three months of debates around the country: his response to allay yellow Vest anger. Instead, he rushed to the scene with edouard Philippe, the prime minister, and Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, to see the “terrible fire ravaging Notre dame”.
Writing on Twitter, he expressed the “emotion of a whole nation” on seeing Notre dame ablaze.
“Like all my compatriots I am sad to see a part of us burn this evening” he said, expressing solidarity with “all Catholics and all French people.”
He vowed to rebuild the cathedral and called on the “world’s greatest talents” for help.
Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit invited priests across France to ring church bells in a call for prayers.
French historian Camille Pascal told BFM broadcast channel the blaze marked “the destruction of invaluable heritage.”
“It’s been 800 years that the cathedral watches over Paris”, Pascal said.
“Happy and unfortunate events for centuries have been marked by the bells of Notre dame.”
He added, “We can be only horrified by what we see.”
reactions from around the world came swiftly including from the Vatican, which released a statement expressing shock and sadness for the “terrible fire that has devastated the Cathedral of Notre dame, symbol of Christianity in France and in the world.”
The fire is a “catastrophe for France, for Spain and for europe,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted.