HER OOF NOTRE DAME
Pages 6&7
A BRAVE priest praised for comforting the dying in the Bataclan terror attacks became the hero of Notre-Dame, going into the burning cathedral to save priceless artefacts.
Jean-Marc Fournier, 53, saved the Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns as flames engulfed the building in Paris on Monday.
An emergency services source said yesterday: “He’s an absolute hero. He showed no fear.”
Firefighters formed a human chain to rescue hundreds of other items.
In 2015, Father Fournier ran into the Bataclan music venue, where Isis terrorists murdered 89 people, to pray over the dead and comfort the injured.
French police have opened an investigation into the Notre-Dame fire, questioning craftsmen from Le Bras Freres, a firm of “cathedral restorers”, to establish how it started.
Paris public prosecutor Remy Heitz said his office was “favouring the theory of an accident”.
But he had assigned 50 people to work on what he believed would be a “long” and “complex” investigation.
It was reported that the high altar, installed in 1989, was the only piece of architecture inside the building that was damaged. It was hit by the cathedral’s spire when it came crashing down in the flames.
Three “irreplaceable” rose windows which date to the 13th century, at first feared to have exploded, are intact.
Le Bras Freres had won a £5million contract to repair the wooden and lead spire. Talking about the contract last year, CEO Julien Le Bras, 32, said the goal was “not to put the building at risk”.
He said: “The spire is 105m tall and there is no question that we will put any pressure on it with the scaffolding.”
A source close to the police probe said: “Many of these restorers were interviewed overnight. The fear is that a small fire began in the area where they were working and quickly spread.”
Last night, president Emmanuel Macron pledged to make rebuilding the cathedral a “national project”.
In a televised address to the nation, he said: “We will rebuild Notre-Dame even more beautifully, and I want it to be completed in five years. We can do it.
“It is up to us to change this disaster into an opportunity to come together.”
As he spoke, £520million had already been pledged to a fund set up to pay for the rebuilding of the gothic cathedral.
Bernard Arnault, head of the LMVH luxury goods group and the richest man in France, put up £170million.
On Monday, while the cathedral was still ablaze, tycoon Francois-Henri Pinault, who is married to Hollywood actress Salma Hayek, pledged £85million. Historic England has offered expert help after dealing with similar disasters at Windsor Castle and Hampton Court.
Yesterday, the Queen sent a message of sympathy to the French people, saying she and Prince Philip had been “deeply saddened to see the images of the fire”.
She said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those who worship at the Cathedral and all of France at this difficult time.”
Theresa May said: “When it comes to the daunting task of rebuilding... we stand ready to offer our expertise.”
President Donald Trump also sent condolences to Macron in a phone call and offered US assistance.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: “We remember with grateful hearts the tolling of NotreDame’s bells on September 12, 2001, in solemn recognition of the tragic September 11 attacks on American soil. “Those bells will sound again.” Philippe Marsset, the vicar general of Notre-Dame, spoke of witnessing the fire, which injured one firefighter, who is in hospital with “non life-threatening injuries”. Marsset said: “It felt like I was looking at a bombing.”
Surveying the damage, Parisian Eric Zelnick, 69, said: “There’s something empty, missing. It was the face of Paris, now it’s a face missing its teeth.”