The fire at Notre Dame in Paris is under control - The first photos from inside the church

Macron: "Campaign for the reconstruction of the temple begins"

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The fire that had been raging since last night in Notre Dame "has been brought under control", the fire brigade of the French capital announced this morning, after a long battle with the flames.

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"The fire was brought under full control. It has been partially extinguished, only local outbreaks remain to be extinguished ", explained to the French Agency the lieutenant Gabriel Plis, representative of the Paris fire department.

Undersecretary of State Laurent Nunez said the causes were not yet known and that investigations were ongoing.

The fire caused a large part of the roof of the iconic Parisian monument to collapse, leaving France and the world speechless, but firefighters were able to save the stone structure and both bell towers, preventing them from collapsing.

A spokesman for the fire brigade said recently that the fire was now "under control".

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The fire, which broke out early in the evening, spread like wildfire on the roof of a Gothic building erected more than eight centuries ago, reaching its collapsing arrow, followed by virtually the entire roof.

As the flames continued to burn the temple overnight, firefighters battled to prevent one of its bell towers from collapsing, trying to save as many religious relics and invaluable works of art as possible. A firefighter was seriously injured. He is the only victim of the fire that has been reported so far.

"The worst has been averted, even if the battle has not yet been completely won", French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after midnight local time as firefighters continued their efforts to prevent other parts of the temple from collapsing and extinguish the flames completely.

Macron vowed to launch a campaign to rebuild the cathedral, calling on the "most important talents" in France to contribute to the restoration of the Paris monument.

"We will rebuild Notre Dame together", stressed Macron, who was obviously having a hard time controlling his emotions, promising that this would be "our work in the years to come".

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The head of the Paris fire department, Jean-Claude Gale, assured that the main structure of the building was saved from destruction.

Stunned, Parisians, tourists - Catholics, atheists, Muslims - could not take their eyes off the spectacle of the fiery hell at Notre Dame de Paris, at the Ile de la Cite, in the center of the French capital. Some chanted Hail Mary, others prayed on their knees. It was raining ash.

State leaders around the world have expressed shock and support for the French.

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Firefighters had to fight the smoke and the melted pencil dripping in their efforts to save some of the treasures in Notre Dame.

A crown of thorns adorned with gold and a vest worn by Louis VII, also known as St. Louis, the monarch of France in the 13th century, survived, said Monsignor Patrick Sowe, a priest in charge of the administration of the Virgin Mary. But firefighters were unable to download some of the invaluable large paintings in time, he added.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it was investigating the blaze. Many sources close to the French police, however, said that the case was that it was due to an accident.

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The fire forced Macron to cancel his speech to the nation, which he intended to make on Monday night to respond to the wave of "yellow vest" protests that is shaking his presidency. Instead, he went on the spot, accompanied by Brigitte's wife and many of his ministers. He thanked and congratulated firefighters for their efforts.

Earlier, the French General Secretariat for Civil Protection, apparently responding to US President Donald Trump, who urged the French authorities to "act quickly" and use firefighting aircraft, said that this was not even being considered: dropping water from the air could destroy the gothic building-jewel entirely.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her sorrow over the fire at the Gothic cathedral, "a symbol of France and our European culture". The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May assured that her thoughts are with the French people and the firefighters who were fighting the "horrible fire". The Vatican said the fire at this "symbol of Christianity in France and in the world" shocked and saddened him and assured him that the Holy See was "praying" for firefighters.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Indalgo, stressed on the spot that many works of art in the cathedral had been removed and were safe.

The temple is at the heart of the plot of a classic Victor Hugo novel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts millions of tourists each year.

The temple was in the midst of renovation, with scaffolding in parts, and some of its famous bronze sculptures were removed last week for maintenance. Notre Dame, which began construction in 1163 and was completed about a century later, is considered a model of French Gothic ecclesiastical architecture. The roof of the temple, most of which was destroyed, was one of the oldest such structures in Paris.

Source: Kathimerini