Drone footage shows for the first time the aerial view of damage to the roof.

Global landmarks have been illuminated in the French tricolour in solidarity with the Notre Dame after a devastating fire ripped through the Paris cathedral on Monday

A petition to find two people pictured in a joyful moment outside Notre Dame before the tragedy has taken over social media.

Whistleblowers across the European Union have won greater protection under landmark legislation aimed at encouraging reports of wrongdoing. The new law, approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday, create "safe channels" and aims to shield whistleblowers from retaliation.

A new study from Toulouse University shows that there are atmospheric micro-plastics. A five-month study carried out in the French Pyrenees showed that micro-plastics can travel a distance of up to 95 kilometres.

Standing by the Seine looking up at the church, Parisian Guillaume Nani took in the new look of the 850 year old building. “It reminded me of an event that happened when I was 10, an event that shaped not only France but the rest of the world - the World Trade Center attacks,”

"I think it is our obligation as citizens and as Muslims to participate in the reconstruction of this beautiful cathedral," Kamel Kabtane, President of the Council of Rhone Mosques told Euronews.

Amid the launch of a national collection to fund repairs for the Notre Dame cathedral, some of France's richest families and firms have already pledged millions of euros.

Officials believe the fire that ravaged the world-famous cathedral in Paris was begun acccidentally, and could be linked to restoration work.

Notre Dame is not only a Catholic emblem but a place where French history and culture converge.

An icon of French history is now black and burnt- the 850-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral has been devastated by a fire, leaving France in mourning for a national icon.

"The flames have ravaged 850 years of history, architecture, painting and sculpture," wrote the Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.