Fire destroys historic Marche des Enfants-Rouges market in Paris

A fire destroyed the historic Marche des Enfants-Rouges in central Paris overnight, with firefighters saying there was nothing left of the covered market, officials said. The blaze broke out at around three in the morning, the police prefecture said, with firefighters alerted at a quarter past four.

The covered market has been totally destroyed. There is nothing left, fire brigade lieutenant-colonel Pierre de Bouvier told reporters at the scene. Paris Centre mayor Ariel Weil said the fire was under control but that the market was completely ravaged, and urged people to avoid the area around Rue de Bretagne.

The roughly 1,000-square-metre market was entirely ablaze when firefighters arrived, the police prefecture said, and at least two-thirds of its metal structure had collapsed, Paris fire brigade told BFMTV. Dozens of fire engines and more than 150 firefighters were deployed to fight the blaze.

No victims had been reported at this stage, the police prefecture said; one firefighter felt unwell during the operation, de Bouvier said. Firefighters said they had brought the fire under control and that it would not spread beyond the covered market, but warned that the risk of further collapse of the remaining structure was now the main safety concern.

Weil said buildings near the market had been little or not affected by the blaze. "Everything can be rebuilt. We escaped the worst," he said, adding that traders were badly shaken. He said he planned to bring market traders together to work out how to support them through a recovery he expects to take months.

Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said the city would support all affected traders and residents and would find temporary premises so businesses could keep operating. Culture Minister Catherine Pegard said she felt "emotion" at the loss of a market founded in 1615, and voiced support for traders, artisans and restaurateurs whose livelihoods were partly destroyed.

The cause of the fire was not yet known. The Paris police forensic laboratory was sent to the site to investigate, and firefighters said they would search every square centimetre of the market, opening each stall and storage box in turn, to make sure no risk of the fire reigniting remained.

The Marche des Enfants-Rouges, Paris's oldest covered food market, has been listed as a historic monument since 1982. It housed restaurants, cheesemongers, greengrocers and florists, and was popular with both local residents and tourists.