Notre-Dame fire: Temporary wooden cathedral proposed

A temporary wooden cathedral should be built in the shadow of Notre-Dame's famed towers while the building is being repaired, officials have said.

The structure would serve as a home for worshippers and tourists alike, the rector of the Paris landmark, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, suggested.

The 850-year-old Gothic cathedral has been closed after a fire tore through its roof and destroyed its spire.

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed it will reopen in five years.

But temporary arrangements will need to be made in the meantime, Monsignor Chauvet told France's CNews.

"We mustn't say 'the cathedral is closed for five years and that's it'," he said.

"Can I not build an ephemeral cathedral on the esplanade [in front of Notre-Dame]?" he added.

The wooden structure, Monsignor Chauvet said, should be "beautiful, symbolic and attractive".

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is understood to have given her approval to the idea, which is not the first of its kind.

After the cathedral in New Zealand's Christchurch was destroyed in a 2011 earthquake, which left 185 people dead, a temporary structure was built.

Meanwhile, some in France have reacted negatively to the government's plan to invite architects from around the world to submit their designs for a new spire.

The spire, which was added to the cathedral during a 19th Century restoration project led by French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, was completely destroyed when the fire took hold on Monday.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told reporters on Wednesday he hoped for "a new spire that is adapted to the techniques and the challenges of our era".

But Mr Philippe questioned "whether we should even recreate the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc... or if, as is often the case in the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre-Dame with a new spire".

Jean-Marie Henriquet, 76, a descendant of Mr Viollet-le-Duc, said it needed to be rebuilt.

"Not reconstructing the spire would equate to amputating an element that belongs to it," he told news agency AFP.

The blaze, which began on Monday evening and was not fully extinguished until almost 15 hours later, destroyed most of the cathedral's roof and led to the collapse of its famous spire.

Firefighters have used a drone to survey the scale of the destruction.

Photos appear to show that at least one of the famed rose windows survived, but there are concerns for some of the other stained-glass windows. The 18th Century organ has not been burned but it is not clear if it is damaged.

It was still too early to estimate the cost of the damage, said the Fondation du Patrimoine, an independent non-profit heritage group.

The main structure, including the two bell towers, was saved in a time window of 15 to 30 minutes by a team of 400 firefighters, Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

But on Thursday, Culture Minister Franck Riester revealed there were still fears over the possible collapse of some parts of the building - including a gable between the bell towers, as well as one in the north transept.

Investigators trying to establish the cause of the fire have begun questioning workers from five companies involved in the renovations that were under way at the cathedral. Officials believe the works could have accidentally led to the disaster.

Offers of help to rebuild the cathedral have come from several world leaders, groups and individuals, including:

Mr Riester said some of the artworks and religious items rescued would be sent to the Louvre museum where they would be kept and eventually restored.

They include what is said to be the crown of thorns worn by Jesus before his crucifixion and a tunic King Louis IX is said to have worn when he brought the crown to Paris.

Work to remove the cathedral's paintings will begin on Friday, Mr Riester said.