A smaller fire broke out in the spire of the cathedral in Rouen in northern France on Thursday. Black smoke could be seen rising towards the sky around lunchtime.
No personal injuries have been reported and the fire was relatively quickly brought under control.
The spire was being renovated and according to FranceBleu, the fire started in connection with scaffolding that had been set up around the spire. It is still unclear what caused the fire.
The spire is the highest in France. The medieval cathedral in Gothic style is considered a masterpiece and is popular, not least because it is the motif for several paintings by Claude Monet.
Many were on edge at the sight of black smoke from the spire, especially since the devastating fire in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019 is still fresh in memory.
