Nantes Cathedral Fire

After being questioned by the police and released without charges a volunteer at the cathedral in Nantes has confessed to arson. No motive has been given as to why the volunteer warden has started the fire, but his lawyer has stated that he felt "relief" after confessing to the police.

The fire has destroyed the cathedral's 17th Century organ and multiple historically valuable stained windows of stained glass, but the fire brigade has managed to put the fire out before the main structure could be destroyed.

Chief architect Pascal Prunet said in a press conference that the restoration of the 15th century Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Nantes would likely take "at least three years." The exact scope of the damage is currently still being assessed and the total cost is still uncertain. While the main structure of the Cathédrale was saved by firefighters, a 17th-century organ and many artefacts and paintings were destroyed in the fire.

A 39-year-old Rwandan refugee has been arrested in connection with a fire in the 15th century Nantes cathedral. The man worked as a volunteer at the cathedral being in charge of locking up the building on Friday night.

Prosecutor Pierre Sennes said that three fires had been started at the site and that there had been no signs of a break-in.

The fire department of the Départements Loire-Atlantique has reported that the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes is on fire. 60 fire fighters are combating the fire but according to the fire brigade "The fire is not under control, it is spreading".