Investigators think an electrical short-circuit was the most likely cause of the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, a police official has told a news agency
The official, who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press about the ongoing enquiry into the blaze, said investigators still don’t have permission to work in the cathedral and search in the rubble for safety reasons.
The monument is still being stabilised with wooden planks to support some fragile parts of the walls.
The probe was taking place as France paid a day-long tribute to the Paris firefighters who saved the famous cathedral from collapse and rescued its treasures.
The tributes came as construction workers rushed to secure an area above one of the church’s famed rose-shaped windows and other vulnerable sections of the fire-damaged landmark.
President Emmanuel Macron held a ceremony at the Elysee Palace to thank the hundreds of firefighters who battled the fast-moving fire at Notre Dame for nine hours, preventing the structure’s destruction and rescuing many of the important relics held inside.
“We’ve seen before our eyes the right things perfectly organised in a few moments, with responsibility, courage, solidarity and a meticulous organisation,” Mr Macron said. “The worst has been avoided.”
Macron said the firefighters will receive a medal for their courage and devotion.
The huge cathedral, including the spire that was consumed by flames and collapsed, was in the initial stages of a lengthy restoration.
The roof was destroyed, but Notre Dame’s famous bell towers, rose windows, organ, and precious artworks were saved.
Fire officials warned that the building remains very fragile and extremely dangerous for construction workers, restoration experts and neighbours.
Police, citing “important risks” of collapse and falling objects, officially closed a large swathe of the island in the Seine River on which Notre Dame sits. The area had been unofficially blocked off since the fire.
Workers using a crane were removing some statues to lessen the weight on the cathedral’s fragile gables, or support walls, and to keep them from falling, since the section lacked the support of the massive timber roof that burned in the devastating blaze.
They were also securing the support structure above one of Notre Dame’s rose windows with wooden planks.
Macron wants to rebuild the cathedral within five years — in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics that Paris is hosting — but experts have questioned whether that is realistic, given the vast scale of the work.
One said the rebuilding project would easily take 15 years. More than £750 million has been pledged for the restoration.