The mystery of the more than 150,000 bees that survived the fire of Notre Dame

Notre Dame's central spire and roof collapsed as a result of last Monday's fire. While badessing the extent of the damage and the costs of their repair, a mystery has been revealed that worries the nearest circle of the cathedral: the state of the thousands of bees who lived on his roof.

They are more than 150,000 insects of the three hives Notre Dame who attended the fire and they survived the flames who devastated a large part of the temple. "The bees are alive," confirmed beekeeper Nicolas Giant, who takes care of hives located in the sacristy.

"At first I thought the three hives had burned, I had no information, but I saw in the satellite images that it was not so and the spokesman of the cathedral confirmed that they were in and out of their hives, "he added during a conversation with the agency. AFP.

Giant has received messages and calls from around the world asking if the bees were dead from the flames. "It was unexpected.I received calls from Europe of course, but also from South Africa, Japan, the United States and America. South, "he said.

The fact that they were saved is explained, because in case of fire and first signs of smoke, bees They take a lot of honey and protect their queen. "This species of European bee does not leave its hive." Carbon dioxide it numbs them"said Giant, who hopes to see the bees again" next week ".

The company Beeopic, responsible for the care of the honeycombs, said that the bees managed to survive by posting on Instagram: "Our bees in the Notre-Dame cathedral still alive as confirmed by the officials of the place! ". They shared a video: "These are the first pictures of our bees after the fire."

Before being able to confirm that the insects had withstood the fire well, the company had published: "The pictures taken by different drones show that the three hives are still in place and are of course intact!" , the mystery remains intact. Smoke, heat, water … we will see if our brave bees are still with us as soon as we have access to the place. "

Each hive produces an average of 25 kilos of honey each year, sold to Notre Dame staff, housed since 2013. It has even become commonplace for French hives to settle in various unexpected places, such as the Opera House. Paris