Images and footage taken by drones above Paris show the full extent of the Notre Dame fire.
The French interior ministry shared a video online which included the drone footage.
It shows flames through most of the 850-year-old building.
The interior ministry praised Paris’s emergency services in the video, which a spokesperson posted on Twitter.
The blaze began at around 6.30pm on Monday and is thought to have caused considerable damage, as firefighters struggle to contain it hours after it began.
Notre Dame’s spire has collapsed and a cathedral spokesperson has confirmed that the entirety of the church’s wooden interior is ablaze.
President Emmanuel Macron said the whole nation was distressed.
“Like all our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this part of all of us burn,” he tweeted.
Firefighters are trying to stop the fire from consuming Notre Dame’s northern belfry.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had launched an inquiry into the fire.
Several police sources said that they were working on the assumption for now that the fire was accidental.
