Arson suspected in fire at 15th-century Nantes cathedral

[malaise]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/18/french-firefighters-tackle-blaze-at-nantes-cathedral
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A fire that broke out in a cathedral in the western French city of Nantes blew out stained-glass windows and destroyed the grand organ in the 15th-century building, officials said.

A local prosecutor said three fires were started at the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral and authorities were treating the incident as a criminal act. An investigation has been opened.

The blaze comes just over a year after a massive fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris destroyed its roof and main spire.

“After Notre Dame, the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral is in flames. Support to the firemen who are taking all the risks to save the Gothic jewel,” the French president, Emmanuel Macron, tweeted from Brussels where he was attending an EU summit.

It was not the first time fire has damaged the cathedral. It was partly destroyed during the second world war in 1944, and in 1972 a fire ravaged its wooden roof. It was replaced 13 years later with a concrete structure.

“The fire of 1972 is in our minds, but at this stage the situation is not comparable,” said the city mayor, Johanna Rolland.

In 2015 a fire that appeared to have been caused by renovation work destroyed most of the roof of another church in Nantes, the Basilica of St Donatian and St Rogatian.