A spokesperson for the cathedral told Le Monde that the entire frame of the historic cathedral's roof (pictured here before the blaze) had caught fire.
By 9.30pm there were claims from fire fighters around the cathedral that the priceless stained glass Rose windows in the Cathedral had been destroyed.
Firefighters tackle the blaze on Monday evening as flames and smoke rise from the Notre Dame cathedral as it burns in Paris.
The spire collapses while flames are burning through the roof at teh Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris today.
It is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, and is visited by some 12million people every year and is the most visited historic monument in Europe.
A woman reacts with shock as she watches the flames engulf the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris this evening.
Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit invited priests across France to ring church bells in a call for prayers for the beloved Paris cathedral. »