PARIS — On the night that Notre Dame burned, some filmed, others cried and a few prayed. And some sang a song, a tribute to…
PARIS — On the night that Notre Dame burned, some filmed, others cried and a few prayed.
And some sang a song, a tribute to the lingering power of a 12th-century cathedral.
« Beautiful – you’d think the word was invented for her, » sang some Parisians standing on the Right Bank in the shadows of the flickering blaze across the river. « Then I feel Hell opening up under my feet. »
But no one could leave the scene.
« I don’t have the words for this, » said Anastasia Collas, 29, standing at the Hotel de Ville across the river from Notre Dame. « I live nearby. I want to cry. I don’t know if we’re going to lose it entirely but this is devastating. I’m going to stay here until it ends.”
The fire at Notre Dame broke out around 6 p.m. local time Monday. News spread fast. Many were caught nearby as emergency workers and police shut off the area. Others, like Elias Cohen, 21, raced to the site to see what was happening.
‘A major loss to humanity’: Notre Dame fire: Catholics shocked as blaze ravages iconic cathedral during Holy Week
« I just saw on the news and I wanted to be here to look at this because I’m a bit surprised and shocked, » said Cohen.
