(Montreal) Police are investigating an arson attack on the Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal in recent hours.
Posted at 7:51 am
The emergency services were alerted by an emergency call about a fire alarm at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Firefighters were already on site, at the intersection of Notre-Dame and Saint-Sulpice streets, when police arrived.
“According to initial findings, one or more suspects set fire to scaffolding at a construction site. “Firefighters found traces of accelerant,” said agent Caroline Chèvrefils, spokesperson for the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM).
There is no damage to the building.
Caroline Chèvrefils, spokesperson for the SPVM
No one was arrested and the investigation was transferred to the fire investigation department at the SPVM.
Historic place
The Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal is considered a National Historic Site of Canada. The construction dates back to the 1820s.
It has been the subject of restoration work since 2020.
The place is very popular among tourists.
The church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, who visited in September 1984.
“On many occasions thousands of people gathered in or on the square to pay their last respects to important people; “Let us think of Maurice Richard or Pierre Trudeau in 2000. They also experienced more joyful and splendid times with the wedding of Céline Dion and René Angélil or that, more discreetly, of the hockey player Mario Lemieux,” says in particular in her file the directory of the cultural heritage of Quebec.