Paying Respect After the Tragedy

People from around the world gathered at the site of the Notre Dame fire.

It is Monday afternoon, the 15th of April 2019 and it is the start of a bad memory for French citizens as they witness their finest cathedral on fire. The cathedral was in the middle of large scale renovation work when the fire broke out weeks before the cathedral was due to host Easter celebrations.

The day after the tragedy, people from around the world including media, tourists and local people came to see the result of the blaze that tore through one of the most historic buildings here in Paris.

The situation on the spot was crowded full of people, media and police as they all wanted to capture and be updated on the newest situation after the tragedy.

Most people are concerned about the most valuable things that were kept inside the cathedral, but luckily they have been able to save most of these items, but not all the treasure that was kept in the building was saved.

Even though the building still looks the same from the outside, most of the inside it burned and many locals think it would not be the same anymore if they rebuild it. They believe it will become a new building not the same as the old Notre Dame before the fire.

Due to the seriousness of the incident and the number of police securing the area, people were only able to take pictures from a distance. This included the Pont de la Tournelle bridge and the bank of the River Seine. This shows how enthusiastic the people were about the incident.

Source: Twitter.com

Hashtag #PrayforParis and #PrayforNotreDame are all over social media such as Twitter and Instagram and became a trending topic. Many people give their sympathy and support towards French people because of this incident.

French citizens expressed their feelings towards their historical building which has been destroyed by the fire.

Francois from Paris spoke about his feelings regarding this tragedy as a local, he said "Old monuments are very fragile, it is a life like us, we are very fragile, nothing is eternal".

He added "I heard from a friend of mine, who called me" and then when asked if the cathedral would be rebuilt "yes of course, it has happened many times in history. The cathedral was built in the twelfth century and then in the nineteenth century was rebuilt from the beginning almost".

Arnold also from Paris expressed his devastated feeling by saying "history has gone, and it is kind of nightmare".

He knew the news from his son, who called him that the cathedral was on fire and he thought his son was joking because he is just fourteen years old and he could not believe what was happening.

When asked if they would rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral he said "yes they will, of course! The point is though, the wooden structures have gone, it is a 1000 year old structure, so it is completely gone".

The picture gives a glimpse of the cathedrals history since it was built, until the devastating fire.

The reconstruction after the incident needs about one billion Euros and estimates for how long it could take have ranged from 5 to 50 years. Not only will the money be spent to rebuild it, but also some of the priceless treasure in the building need renovating also.

The French government are now raising funds for Notre Dame and people from around the world are willing to donate their money in hope they are going to see the historical building rise again.

If you would like to donate, please visit: https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/friends/donate/