![The cathedral in Rouen in Normandy is widely known from paintings by impressionist Claude Monet. (AP PHOTO) The cathedral in Rouen in Normandy is widely known from paintings by impressionist Claude Monet. (AP PHOTO)](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/6e6e4ef7-0433-40d7-ac90-7cb17149cc35.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A fire has broken out in the spire of the medieval cathedral in the northern French city of Rouen.
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Witnesses speaking on BFM television described thick smoke emanating from the spire on Wednesday, and recalled a devastating fire in 2019 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris that toppled its spire and collapsed its roof.
The cathedral in Rouen in Normandy is widely known from a series of paintings by impressionist Claude Monet.
Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol posted on the social media platform X that "the beginning of a fire is under way on the spire of the cathedral of Rouen".
"The origin is unknown at this stage. All public resources are mobilised."
The regional administration posted online that the cathedral was evacuated and a security perimeter was in place.
The cathedral in Paris, a major landmark, is scheduled to reopen in December after an unprecedented reconstruction effort.
The cause of that fire was deemed an accident.
Australian Associated Press