A spokesperson for the cathedral said that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a major televised policy speech he was due to give on Monday evening over the “terrible fire ravaging Notre-Dame.”“The Paris fire service is trying to control the flames,” she wrote on Twitter, asking residents to respect the security cordon thrown up around the site.
A spokesperson for the cathedral said the fire, which comes as French Catholics prepare to celebrate Easter, broke out at about 4.30 GMT. Fire trucks could be seen speeding through Paris towards the scene on the Ile de la Cite — an island in the Seine at the heart of Paris. Wow, they're just getting water on the Notre Dame cathedral now. That's crazy. The entire wooden frame is on fire and it's expected to be totally destroyed.
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