(Montreal) Police are investigating an arson attack targeting the Notre-Dame Basilica, in Old Montreal, in recent hours.
Emergency services were alerted Sunday morning, around 2:30 a.m., during a 911 call regarding a fire alarm.
The firefighters were already on site, at the intersection of Notre-Dame and Saint-Sulpice streets, when the police arrived.
“According to initial information, one or more suspects set fire to scaffolding on a building construction site. The firefighters found traces of accelerant,” indicated 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 section which oversees arson investigations at the SPVM.
Historic place
The Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal is classified as a national historic site of Canada. Its construction dates back to the 1820s.
It has been the subject of restoration work since 2020.
The place is very popular with tourists.
The church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, who visited it in September 1984.
“On many occasions, thousands of people have gathered inside or on its square to pay their last respects to important personalities; let’s think of Maurice Richard or Pierre Trudeau in 2000. She also experienced more joyful and sumptuous times with the marriage of Céline Dion and René Angélil or that, a little more discreet, of the hockey player Mario Lemieux”, mentions in particular her file in the directory of cultural heritage of Quebec.