Part of Notre Dame on fire.

[Rev. Rye]

I never miss an opportunity to take potshots at the Catholic church but this is a great loss. 850 years old and now gone, probably down to some careless wanker.
Now if a petrol tanker were to crash into the Eiffel tower, I would sup French wine in celebration.

Well, apparently, the initial smoke was green, which seems to indicate that it originally started with something copper. I think this indicates that it was most likely an accident. And it looks like the gendarmes are currently working under the assumption that it was an accident.

Thankfully, it looks like the destruction was far less complete than many of us had feared, and it looks like the relics at least are safe. That said, there's a very distinct possibility that many irreplaceable artworks were lost in the fire. It's a bit too early to tell, and let's at the very least hope they can put up some sort of temporary roofing before they can add water damage to the list of problems the cathedral has suffered... then again, it looks like it's currently a rainy day in Paris.