Notre Dame On fire's anniversary, Notre-Dame's great bell breaks its silence

A year on from the inferno that gutted Notre-Dame de Paris and stunned the world, the cathedral’s great bell rang on Wednesday evening, as a mark of the building’s resilience and that of the medics battling France’s coronavirus epidemic.

The bourdon bell has sounded just once since April 15, 2019, when the blaze broke out that consumed the spire and the roof and, officials say, came within half an hour of burning the 850-year-old cathedral to the ground. It tolled, coinciding with the hour when Parisians applaud from their windows and balconies in tribute to the frontline staff risking their lives to treat Covid-19 patients.