1 . Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral church in Paris, is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages. For the French, it represents something immortal, ever-present and unchanging, like a mountain. Built over almost two centuries, the Notre-Dame is, as President Emmanuel Macron said, “where the French lived all their great moments”. Soldiers prayed here before leaving for the Crusades; Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned here; it survived the French Revolution, two World Wars and the Nazi occupation. It is where men bend their knees to profess love and thousands of tourists take photos every day.

A fire, whose cause was not identified yet, engulfed (吞没), on April 15th, the cathedral's upper structure. More than 400 firefighters took part in the 15-hour battle to control the blaze (火苗) that triggered sorrow over the globe. The extent of the damage is still unknown, but the fire destroyed much of the gothic cathedral’s wood-timbered roof and spire (塔尖). The cathedral will certainly be restored (the French government promises), but the sight of flames bringing down the spire moved the world in a manner far exceeding its religious significance.

French Culture Minister Franck Riester on Thursday said the government would draw all the consequences from the huge flames that destroyed the centuries-old Notre Dame Cathedral, adding measures to protect the national heritage were on the table. “Staff from the fire department, the culture ministry and the city town hall rushed to the Cathedral, when the fire started, to protect the main artworks that were inside. The artworks, which include relics such as the Christ's crown of thorns and French king Saint-Louis's 13th century tunic, were first moved to the city town hall and will now be transferred to the nearby Louvre Museum .” the minister told Le Parisian newspaper in an interview without giving details on the possible measures.