[ad_1]
Although the structure of the building was considered to be generally solid, the images showed gaping holes in the roof, where the old vaulted ceiling had collapsed in the nave.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the experts had identified "some vulnerabilities" in the building, especially in the roof, much of which was destroyed and in part of the north transept.
Some nearby residential properties have been evacuated, authorities badessing the extent of the damage caused by the fire that devastated Monday night the medieval emblem. Firefighters said it had taken more than nine hours before the flames were under control.
According to Paris firefighters, the fire that started Monday night in the attic was not immediately known. The cathedral and its central spire – an area where the fire was visible for the first time – were surrounded by scaffolding in the midst of construction work.
Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation, but prosecutor Remy Heitz said on Tuesday that "there is no evidence that it is an intentional act" and that the beginning of the fire was "probably accidental". Heitz also said that the investigation, which is in its infancy, should be a long process.
Lieutenant-Colonel Gabriel Plus, a spokesman for the fire department, told CNN that the internal security agents had first heard the fire alarm at 6:20 pm. local time (12:20 ET) and began evacuating the cathedral even though they had not seen any signs of fire.
Twenty-three minutes later, the fire alarm went off again, added Mr. Plus. It is at this moment that the security guards of the cathedral have noticed the flames.
Firefighters were unable to save the spire of the 19th century cathedral, which burned to become a blackened shell before collapsing under the horrible gaze of thousands of Parisians gathered in the streets. Two police officers and a firefighter were slightly injured, the brigade said.
S engage to rebuild
French President Emmanuel Macron said with optimism that he wanted the cathedral to be rebuilt in five years.
"We will rebuild Our Lady even more beautiful and I want it to be done in the next five years," Macron said in a televised speech to the nation Tuesday night.
"In the course of our history, we have built cities, harbors, churches, many have been torched because of revolutions, wars, human errors, and each time we rebuilt them.
"The fire of Our Lady reminds us that our story never ends, and that we will always have challenges to overcome, and what we believe to be indestructible can also be touched," added Macron.
Macron had promised to rebuild Monday at the scene of the fire, "because that 's what the French are waiting for, that' s what our history deserves, and that 's what it is. is our deepest destiny. "
However, Frédéric Létoffé, co-chair of a group of French companies specializing in the restoration of historic buildings, warned that complete restoration of the Gothic cathedral could take much longer – about "10 to 15 years".
He told reporters earlier Tuesday that the site will need to be secure before any restoration work.
"This will require a lot of work because, beyond arming and reinforcement, it will be necessary to build a scaffolding with an umbrella to be able to cover the entire roof that has disappeared, to protect against the elements", was -he adds.
Funding pledges to help with restoration work poured in Tuesday, with donations of more than $ 700 million from business leaders and French companies confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
They include a donation of 200 million euros ($ 226 million) from the family of French billionaire Bernard Arnault and its luxury goods group LVMH, a promise of 112.2 million euros (about 126.5 million euros). million) of the French Heritage Foundation and 200 million euros (226 million dollars). ) Donation of the Bettencourt Meyers family, the L & # 39; Oréal group and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.
Valérie Pecresse, President of the Île de France Region, told CNN 's subsidiary, BFMTV, that the region would provide emergency aid of 10 million euros to Notre Dame, and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced that she would organize a fundraising conference at the Paris City Hall in Paris. the next weeks.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the badessment of damage could take months.
Shock and horror
Tuesday, the city was in shock from the fire. Most French political parties have suspended their European election campaigns.
Nathalie Loiseau, former minister of Europe and candidate for Emmanuel Macron's "La Republique en Marche" party, declared that the party's campaign would be suspended "until further notice".
"We are going through a deep moment of sadness," Loiseau said in a tweet.
"For me, it's much more than just stones, it's a part of myself that burns," said Sarah Virot, a 32-year-old Paris resident, while she was raising them. eyes on the charred church in front of her.
As the fire raged on Monday night, thousands of Parisians and tourists stopped, horrified, in front of the 850-year-old Gothic masterpiece. Some sang hymns while, a few days before Easter, one of the symbols of French Catholicism was burned before them.
"It's horrible to see such a symbol disappear in front of you, it's been around for so many years and in a few minutes, half of it has disappeared," local resident Thibaud Binetruy told CNN. "Paris without Notre Dame, madness."
Another witness, Anne Marie, spoke with tears. "In Paris, it's a monumental symbol – every person of different religions is really moved and saddened," she said. "Paris without the cathedral is no longer Paris."
Messages of support and mourning have poured in from all over the world. The Vatican said that the Holy See had learned "with shock and sadness the news of the terrible fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, a symbol of Christianity in France and in the world".
The fire "extends beyond Paris," CNN Michel Christian Alain Aupetit, archbishop of the city, told CNN. "I have received a message of support from the Chief Rabbi of Paris, everyone is writing to share their feelings, it is going beyond Paris, people are reacting around the world."
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the fire a "disaster for all humanity", while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the British capital "was in mourning "with Paris.
"Heartbreaking scenes from Notre Dame Cathedral in flames, London is today in sorrow with Paris and still in friendship," Khan said on Twitter.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, also spoke, calling it a "terrible fire". His suggestions on how to fight the conflagration, however, were less welcome than his sympathy. The French Civil Security Agency has cracked down on Trump's Twitter, claiming that "flying water tanks could be used to extinguish it", pointing out that a waterfall on the island is likely to be a problem. old church could cause its collapse.
Objects of art, preserved objects
Images of the flames engulfing the cathedral – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 and one of the most popular tourist sites in Paris – have been scattered all over the world. But as shocking as the scene appeared, it could have been a lot worse.
Its iconic facade and towers have been salvaged, as well as a host of valuable art objects and artifacts kept inside, including the Holy Crown, which many believed to be of the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head during the crucifixion, and which cathedral calls its "most precious and most venerated relic".
On Tuesday, the Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, declared that the most "valuable" works of art, including the "crown of thorns" and the "St. Louis tunic", had been transferred of Notre-Dame and are now under security at the City Hall of Paris. S addressing reporters, Riester said the rest of the works of art would be transferred to the Louvre Museum.
One of the most affected parts of the church by fire is also one of the most recent: the spire, built in the nineteenth century. This will have to be completely rebuilt, as well as the much older roof structure, called "the forest".
"The 13th century frame is called a forest because it took a forest of trees to build it," said Patrick Chauvet, rector of the cathedral. The frame was completely lost in the fire, he added.
A symbol of France
The first stone of Our Lady was laid in 1163 by Pope Alexander III and the cathedral was completed in the thirteenth century. With its towers, its spire, flying buttresses and stained glbad, it is at once an architectural jewel and a major religious and cultural symbol of France.
Located on Île de la Cité, a small island in the center of Paris, the cathedral is one of the most popular attractions in the city. It attracts about 13 million visitors a year.
Over the centuries, the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor. A vast restoration effort was launched in the mid-nineteenth century, fueled in part by the success of Victor Hugo's novel entitled "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in 1831.
New renovations were underway before the fire. A small glimmer of hope from the fire could be that the restored spire and roof will be built to modern standards and better equipped to withstand future fires.
Experts have reported other fires at historic sites, such as the one that engulfed Windsor Castle in the UK in 1992, followed by extensive restoration projects. The restoration of Windsor took five years, but is now in a better condition than before the fire.
Source link
