Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol reported a huge fire in the Cathedral on Thursday.
The cause of the fire has not been established at the moment. Everyone in the building was evacuated and the area around it was cordoned off so as not to interfere with the work of emergency services.
For the same reason, the inhabitants of Rouen were urged to leave the area where the cathedral is located and refrain from travelling there.
To get to the high spire, firefighters deployed a long ladder. In total, more than 60 rescuers and 33 units of equipment are fighting the fire.
Rouen Cathedral is one of the most famous temples, representatives of Gothic architecture, was built in the period from XII to XVI centuries. It is included in the list of national heritage of France.