As millions of Europeans grappled with the notion that, in the span of just five hours, a devastating fire nearly destroyed more than 850 years of history after erupting in the attic of Paris’s cathedral of Notre Dame, newspapers in the UK and France went to the presses with the tragedy as the unchallenged lead story.
Most went to print before French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that the 400 firefighters working to combat the blaze had managed to save the interior of the structure. So they led with the impression that the cathedral was a total lost, as many had suspected.
Starting with the French papers, the catholic newspaper La Croix featured 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
In a city that has suffered several tragedies over the past few years, including terror attacks and civil unrest, Les Echos termed the fire “La tragédie de Paris” – the tragedy of Paris”.
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.
LE FIGARO: Le désastre #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/RQ8koIJS2M
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
Libération led with “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
Moving on to the UK, the Times of London wrote: “The Battle to save Notre Dame”.
TIMES: Battle to save Notre Dame #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/94nvi0HfUR
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
The Daily Mail: “Nine centuries of history lost to an unholy inferno”.
Tuesday’s @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/KVF0zMqtpp
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) April 15, 2019
The Daily Telegraph: “Paris weeps for its beloved lady.”
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: “Inferno devastates Notre Dame”.
The Guardian front page, Tuesday 16 April 2019: Inferno devastates Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/nz5MwECipX
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 15, 2019
The Sun: “Notre Doom”
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 led with: “Tragedy of Notre Dame”.
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 Financial Times was one of a few papers to share space on it front page, devoting the lower half to a story about Goldman’s earnings.
FINANCIAL TIMES: Goldman dashes shake up hopes #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/ThQa1xLf4Z
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2019
The Express: “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
Meanwhile, after the fire, Parisians wake up to a smoldering wreck.
After the fire: Parisians wake up to a smoldering Notre-Dame Cathedral https://t.co/dDOKTPmGGZ
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 16, 2019
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2v8Z7LA Tyler Durden