The fire that broke out at Notre Dame Cathedral, destroying the roof and causing the spire to collapse in front of horrified onlookers, is the lead story on the front pages in both France and the UK today.
We lead with the French papers, which devote their front pages to the story and striking images of the blaze. La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, has the headline: “Le coeur en cendres” (Heart in ashes).
LA CROIX: Le coeur en cendres #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/L5AWxoT4bZ
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
Les Echos calls it “La tragédie de Paris” (The tragedy of Paris), adding that the “violent fire” had “ravaged” the cathedral, leading to “considerable worldwide emotion”.
LES ECHOS: La tragédie de Paris #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/4yIYjbErYn
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
Le Parisien’s headline is “Notre-Dame des Larmes” (Our lady of tears).
LE PARISIEN: Notre-Dame des Larmes #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/HAkLDnLwws
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
Le Figaro calls it “Le désastre” (The disaster) and says that “testimonies of solidarity and sadness had flooded in from all over the world”.
LE FIGARO: Le désastre #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/RQ8koIJS2M
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
Libération’s headline is “Notre Drame” (Our tragedy).
Given the situation in Paris tonight’s #tomorrowspaperstoday will include some French front pages, starting with LIBÉRATION: Notre Drame pic.twitter.com/qS6OBNHJEh
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
The Times’ headline is “Battle to save Notre Dame”, saying that the fire had taken just five hours to devastate the 855-year-old cathedral and that “experts had warned of risk to Gothic masterpiece”.
TIMES: Battle to save Notre Dame #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/94nvi0HfUR
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
The Daily Mail reports: “Nine centuries of history lost to unholy inferno”.
Tuesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/KVF0zMqtpp
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) April 15, 2019
The Daily Telegraph features a dramatic picture of the blaze at dusk, under the headline “Paris weeps for its beloved lady”. The article says that “the heart of Paris was torn asunder” by the blaze.
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'Paris weeps for its beloved lady' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/6LG0gAgPSE
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) April 15, 2019
The Guardian reports on the cause of the blaze, saying that “Police said they believed the inferno began accidentally and may be linked to building work at the cathedral”.
The Guardian front page, Tuesday 16 April 2019: Inferno devastates Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/nz5MwECipX
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 15, 2019
The Sun can’t resist a pun: “Notre Doom” and uses the picture of the precise moment that the spire collapsed.
Tomorrow's front page: Massive fire rips through #NotreDame cathedral reducing the Paris landmark to ruins https://t.co/Xj9o9j1ySh pic.twitter.com/BpLtVYL24O
— The Sun (@TheSun) April 15, 2019
The i leads with “Tragedy of Notre Dame” and its front page includes a quote from Emmanuel Macron: “Part of all of us burns”.
Tuesday's front page: Tragedy of Notre Dame as the world watches 850 year old cathedral burn #tomorrowspaperstoday #skypapers #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/HjNb2fU9ms
— i newspaper (@theipaper) April 15, 2019
The FT includes a picture of the cathedral in flames and reports “a devastating fire ripped through Notre Dame cathedral in Paris as the landmark was undergoing renovation work”, but its main story is “Goldman dashes shake-up hopes”.
FINANCIAL TIMES: Goldman dashes shake up hopes #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/ThQa1xLf4Z
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
The Express also leads with a different story but features pictures of the cathedral in flames, saying “a nation weeps as inferno engulfs Notre Dame”.
EXPRESS: Half of statins users risk lives #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/BY4TtaerRq
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
