World leaders share in sorrow over devastating Notre Dame fire in Paris

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he was “sad to see this part of us burn”, later tweeting that the cathedral would be rebuilt and announcing an international fundraising campaign to pay for reconstruction.

“It’s part of our French destiny,” he said. “Tomorrow a national fund will be launched, and well beyond our borders.”

European Union Chief Donald Tusk is calling on the bloc’s member countries to help France rebuild the fire-ravaged Notre Dame cathedral saying the site in Paris is a symbol of what binds Europe together.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker: "I am following minute by minute the fire of which Notre-Dame de Paris is the prey. Our Lady of Paris belongs to the whole of mankind. It has inspired so many writers, so many painters, so many philosophers, so many visitors from all over. What a sad spectacle. What a horror. I share the emotion of the French nation which is also ours."

The United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO has also promised to stand "at France's side" to restore the site, which it declared a world heritage site in 1991.

As the flames tore through the 12th century cathedral, Spain’s Prime Minister offered France the help of his country in the recovery.

The fire is a “catastrophe for France, for Spain and for Europe,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted, adding that the flames are destroying “850 years of history, architecture, painting and sculpture.”

Leaders from other countries, including Australia, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Japan, Lebanon and Poland, also expressed their sadness and said their thoughts were with the people and leadership of France.

Former US President Barack Obama was among those to express their sorrow as the French President vowed to rebuild.

“Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost - but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can,” the former President tweeted along with an image of him visiting the cathedral with his daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Earlier, a huge fire engulfed Paris’s Notre Dame, the world-famous, over 850-year-old cathedral, damaging much of the structure and causing its iconic spire to fall on April 15th.

Being known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Paris, it attracts more than 10 million visitors each year./.