Notre-Dame de Paris
Now how did that happen?
There was a fire. The Paris Sapeurs-Pompiers turned up. They and a whole lot of volunteers removed as many of the art works and holy relics as they could and took them to safety. They started storing them in the Louvre straight away.
The fire brigade tackled the fire and stopped it spreading beyond the wooden spire and the roof. The President of the Republic came along with the mayor of Paris, both looking shaken, and promised to help. Several individuals and companies had promised 360 million Euros to repair and restore the church (and let's not forget that's what Notre-Dame is) even as night fell.
And you know, astonishingly, nobody tried to apportion blame.
There will, of course, be an investigation, but meanwhile no one is blaming anyone.
Except in the UK, where this fire has already been compared by the media to fires at York Minster, Windsor Castle and Glasgow School of Art. Just trying to equate Notre-Dame with any or all of these buildings gives us an idea of how little we in the UK understand the significance of what has happened in Paris.
Not to mention how quick the media here are to rush to judgement.
Notre-Dame is where French kings were crowned for centuries. It's a record in stone of French history and of European culture. The construction of Notre-Dame began in 1163, during the reign of King Louis VII, less than a hundred years after the Battle of Hastings, It was completed in 1345, not long after the Battle of Bannockburn. By that time, France had had quite a long line of rulers. Charlemagne among them.
Saint Joan of Arc was beatified here. This is also where Napoleon was crowned (or crowned himself, depending on which version you read).
It's a shame the UK feels it has to apply its own story and 21st century media methods to this disaster. To me, it's another example of how the UK fails to understand European solidarity: Notre-Dame is not about the UK. It's bigger than that. If only the UK could lift it eyes out of its own navel, we might see what we have in common with the rest of Europe.
There was a fire. The Paris Sapeurs-Pompiers turned up. They and a whole lot of volunteers removed as many of the art works and holy relics as they could and took them to safety. They started storing them in the Louvre straight away.
The fire brigade tackled the fire and stopped it spreading beyond the wooden spire and the roof. The President of the Republic came along with the mayor of Paris, both looking shaken, and promised to help. Several individuals and companies had promised 360 million Euros to repair and restore the church (and let's not forget that's what Notre-Dame is) even as night fell.
And you know, astonishingly, nobody tried to apportion blame.
There will, of course, be an investigation, but meanwhile no one is blaming anyone.
Except in the UK, where this fire has already been compared by the media to fires at York Minster, Windsor Castle and Glasgow School of Art. Just trying to equate Notre-Dame with any or all of these buildings gives us an idea of how little we in the UK understand the significance of what has happened in Paris.
Not to mention how quick the media here are to rush to judgement.
Notre-Dame is where French kings were crowned for centuries. It's a record in stone of French history and of European culture. The construction of Notre-Dame began in 1163, during the reign of King Louis VII, less than a hundred years after the Battle of Hastings, It was completed in 1345, not long after the Battle of Bannockburn. By that time, France had had quite a long line of rulers. Charlemagne among them.
Saint Joan of Arc was beatified here. This is also where Napoleon was crowned (or crowned himself, depending on which version you read).
It's a shame the UK feels it has to apply its own story and 21st century media methods to this disaster. To me, it's another example of how the UK fails to understand European solidarity: Notre-Dame is not about the UK. It's bigger than that. If only the UK could lift it eyes out of its own navel, we might see what we have in common with the rest of Europe.
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