24"are watching "france with live coverage of notre dame to the drilling paris. a cathedral that stood for 850 years. in the space of a few hours last roof --w parts of the two thirds of the roof and the spiral b burn. let's liststen in.

notably the roof of the --hedral and part of the which part of it has to be there are five residential buildings behind the church have been evacuated for 48 hours to make the building secure. securing t the edifice from inse will contitinue to make it possible for the firefighters to enter the cathedral with staff from the ministry of culture to recover works of art. it will lookok -- they will explain the situation cultural assets. think the firefighters, the military, police officerss with the stafff

of the minisistry of culture who have done a r remarkable job of coordination. the police of paris, 20 civil servants have been courageously committed to entering -- have entetered the bell towers of the interveveion t tir saved the edifice. arrived 20 minutes later, they would not have been able to intervene. i will now give the floor to the minister of culture. i would like to pay tribute -- >> i would like to pay tribute to thehe firefefighters yesterdy and today. treasury -- the treasure here of the cacathedral has been secucured and bolstered in the

town hall. i would like to thank the archbishop, the police, firefighters w who worked hard o tunic and st. louis the crown of thorns. a -- it wilill in be put in a safe place. w will be withdrawn on friday morning. apapparently the fired not cause any damage e to the great paintings but the smoke caused someme damage. will be puts of art in a safe place in the louvre, the humidified and restorered. there arare the rose windows of the transnsacts which have not

been affected. , whichtstern rose window if we can anticipate on friday, the works of artt before we need to do so. our main concern today is to secure what remains of the edifice. >> the chief architect in charge of the catathedral has been with his staff and other members of the ministry of culture with though firefighters to secure the location. points identified as particularlyly vulnerable. whatat remains of the roof shoud hold.

part of the spire fell yesterday . northern --f the collapsed. everyone i is mobilized with the firefighters of paris, they are deciding what has to be done to preserve the parts of the cathedral which are still standing. >> 500 firefighters were committed to the fight against theire. reserve f forces have intervened asas well. 500 firefighters have been committed d by the prefecture of paris with reinforcements from suburbs ofof paris, i would like to pay tribute to theieir courae and determination at a time they

have fought the fire with determination and courage. from outside the cathedral and at the risk of their lives inside the cathedral as well. >> we were just listening to that press conference coming out in the wake of the tragic fire here in paris at notre dame cathedral. the images seen around the world last night, a fire the dedevastated two thirdrds of the roofof of notre dame to thee drw and it also brouought dowown crasashing to the ground the iciconic spire. take a look at the image seen around the world. at the footage seen around the world.

that image there of the spire crashing to the ground in paris. with me is doug, you were walking around earlier at the damage outside notre dame cathedral, tell us about what you saw. >> a lot of people are trying to do their own personal inventory of the damage and if you don't know notre dame well, your first impression might be what's the difference? it seems to be largely intact. the north tower facade, they are standing. the fact of the matter is, the gaping absence is that spire, the 300 foot spire which happened to be under a renovation that began about a year agogo which is whwhy you se that scaffolding put up to try and basically take some light out of that spire. the irony is the spire itself

that fell last night was not the original one. it was a spire designed and at 1861.the that was i it self a replacement spire. this renovation project is believed to be around the area where the fire itself started. at this point they do not see any arson or criminal intent, at least there is no path leading them to believe that. -- it could have to do with the construction work. there was welding being done in the area. an area called in -- called the attic. all you would need is one spapak from a welder's instrument and perhaps that fire could start to

smolder for a while because that is what happened. it smoldered for quite a while before you saw the smoke billowing out last night. >> many people who have been here have visited know how famous it is for its relics and windows. what do we know about the state of those things? >> a lot of it is intact but the fact of the matter is notre dame itself had been a wreck in many respects. themselves, they had broken. some of the gargoyles actually were replaced by plastic. a lot of what you see on notre for today iss replacement the original mataterial which is already in very bad disrepair. water had begun leaking through the roof after repeated rain over the centuries.

hence this badly needed renovation project. there are parts of the original edifice still in tact and standing, a lot of what we havae seen today and still see is part of an evolving cathedral. a cathedral in bits and pieces patched together over the centuries through a -- through all of french history. >> talking to us there about what notre dame has seen over the years. 850 years of existence. construction began almost 1000 years ago. the night in a few hours, devastating fire came and racked to the roof. two thirds of the roof destroyed. >> it survived the french

revolution, two world wars and a massive fire. notre dame cathedral is still standing and the worst has been avoided. two thirirds of the roof anand e spire hahave collalapsed but t e main structurere including two bell towers have been saved. firefighters battled the blaze for more than eight hours. they say the situation is finally under control. the roof of the 12th-century monument caught fire shortly before 7:00 p.m. local time. it is quickly spread into a towering inferno. the smoke billowing into the sky engulfing one of thehe cathedral landmark rectangular towers. nearby buildings were evavacuatd in the entntire structure would collapse. thew minunutes later, .athedral spire e came down a momement seared into the memoy

of the horrified onlookers. >> i can't even describe what is happening now. paris is collapsing. >> it is hard, especially when we saw the spire collapse. touristss sunk in, gathered around to see the site with their own eyes. some struggling to hold back tears, others singing or saying prayers. sad. is very it's one of the great monuments. away, it isar devastating to see monuments like this burn. visiting the scene after canceling a major speech on tv, the french president praised the courage of the 500 firefefightes deployed on site. one of whom was badly injured.

over centuries, the cathedral has been improved and changed and so i say to you solemnly the cathedral will be rebuilt. ands part o of our destiny our project for the years to come. the paris mayor praised the city's solidarity in coming together to save the works of art and objects of worship. a human chain immediately sprung into place. the firefighters who do , then also ark chain of solidarity, especially in saving the e artwork. the 850-year-old church was undergoing renovation when the fire broke, prosecutors have opened an investigation to determine what may have caused it. >> this is our continuing live

coverage from notre dame cathedral in paris. notre dame was wrapppped by a deadlyly fire last -- racked bya deadly fire last night. to talk about what this means in france and around the world, you are the president of -- france. talk to us a bit more about why notre dame is so much of a symbol for the entire world? notre dame is a huge symbol for the world. for everyone it is one of the most iconic images of france. you of the eififfel tower in n e ine, it has been c celebrated novels, films. this is also reminded us notre

is connected to the history of our country. i was initially relieved this morning to see the structure there. the wooden structure just below is basically gone and we are about bits which had been assembled in the 13th centurury made with tree trurun, some age to the eighthth or ninh century. we did not know alall of itt and surprises. we will be able toto rebuild it bubut there is a sense o of

irreparable -- loss. the world is feeling, not just france. of -- are the president this is holy week. the week that runs up to easter celebration. a crown of thorns is usually shown. that is going to be taking place , tell us more about the effect this devastation on the cathedral is having for catholics. >> this is a week associated withth chrhristians and catholis coming together sharing the key messssages. i think we already had a feeling our church had been badly shaken

with scandals and affairs and this is in a way, it feeeels lie the final stroke. , i was struckand at how much this had become a symbol of national unity of the faithful and as a nation. timeg this holy week,k, a when the nation n comes together and the faithfhful come togethe, this is a very big symbol that is ads us our community community, not just a building. we wilill be feeling the loss of the tradition associated with notre damee. perhaps it is a

to look at what are the roots of our f faith and t theye if building this, not even they are a jewel of collective memory. is something much smaller and bigger. we truly believe in that. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. as you can imagine as the fire was raging through the roof of notre dame last night, people in the a area stopped to stare to watch the damage as it's taking place. actually work here in notre dame cathedral or with the diocese. we hear from the vicar general who was there last night and

witnessed the damage firsthand. >> i looked in through the front door. insiside is of the firefighters and the robots spraying water around. impressive was the hole just above the choir made by the spire that collapsed. it felt like we were in hell. it was pitch black and in the robot,lluminated by that was the cross, the big golden cross that still stood. the right i saw the famous statue of notre dame, it was still there. i thought, everything is on fire, but the cross in virgin mary are here. -- and the virgin mary are here. dame.are live from notre

with me is doug herbert. we will talk about the damages that the cathedral sustained, but tell us more about what was saved. >> apparently quite a bit was saved. and the thehe richness vast wealth of n notre dame cathedral was inside the cathedral. what we heard throughout the night and is now b been confirm, a lot of the artwork in the cathedral because it's essentially a giant museum. artwork was a chain of humanity a firirefighters that passed a lot of artwork out. place where kings and queeeens were married d and bur. surrrrounding those scripts and attending them are a whole host

of artifacts. that is what the firefighters were desperately trying to save even as they werere battling 500 of them. the famous rosary window was intact when saved. i'm sure they will subjected to further inspections because them, not famous for original stained glass windows, but which were installed over the centuries. how many of those are still intact. how many may have been damaged. we have to wait for the final confirmation. the giant organ, questions about whether or not any of that has survived intact. people came from all around the world to hear the chamber music. it sounds unique in the world.

a lot was safeguarded in one of the things that a lot of friends are discovering is a lot of the heritage that perhaps they felt lost last night is still in tact. a lot of it will have to be restored and a lot of that restoration is going to have to be the work of creative imagination. perhaps not in the originanal fm of when it was built in the 12th-century. but perhaps according to a lot of the know-how that has developed since then and perhaps a reinvention in the sense of notre dame. it will also be to a certain extent a reinvented and reimagined notre dame. >> let's take a look back at some of the damage notre dame suffered last night in the wake of that fire. notre dame is still standing, but the damage is extensive according to france junior

interior minister and doubts over how the structural remain intact. saved.structure has been we need to conduct assessments. we need to make sure they are still stable. so that firefighters are able to enter the cathedral once more. >> gone inin the blalaze that erupted monday nigight, two this of the roof along with h its spire. morning, the two bell towers remain and the head priest said officials managed to save many relics. >> we save the crown of thorns from inside and st. louis' tuni's tunic -- st. louis' c. the treasure was not damaged. >> the payers -- the paris mayor

said the city will lend a helping hand. >> since we are neighbors we immediate the offer to store the artwork in t the paris townn hal in the room where we ususually hold exhibits. this wasas to safeguard the paintings and artworks. of course the crown of thorns and the tunic which are also in a safe place. photos show the extent of roof damage and across still in place of the altar while the state of notre dame stained glass windows remains unclear, 1616 statues once connected to e spire are safafe and they will remove this part of the renovations last week. >> here i am in front of notre dame alongside douglas herbert. gone ande the roof is the scaffolding is still there from the renovations. bit about other

tragedy that other cathedrals have seen over the centuries and that have come out triumphant even if it was decades later. >> starting with notre dame itself. it has witnessed the entirire array of french history. back in 18th century, they basically set fire to the cathedral and during the revolution it was closed down for several years because the religious affiliations of everything and it was seen as something heretical. notre dame itstself has been on the receiving end of a lot of damage over the centuries. obviously this being some of the worst it has seen. tourists if they are going to see another cathedral like notre dame or leave paris and travel around france, they

will see the cathedral. it was bombed in september 1914 just before the german troops arrived. terrible bombing damage. they started the work five years later in 1919. it only reopens to the public in 1938. 20 years later. even today, there is some work going on inside to try a few touches. another world-famous cathedral suffered a fire in 1972 which also required years of restoratioion, renovation. there have been quite a few fires around paris. a lot of the older buildings in paris we havave been getting. citity which unfofortunately has a lot of fis often in loloincome houousing ad older structures. i said churches because a lot of those are still built in wood.

the roof that collapsed in notre dame was built with thousands of oak trees. the absolutely most flammable product. some people would tell you that if it were not one of france's holy

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