Former first lady Michelle Obama was on a lavish dinner cruise along the Seine in Paris as the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire.
Obama, who was in the French capital on Monday as part of her Becoming international book tour, was pictured smiling and mingling with other guests on the dinner cruise as they passed the Eiffel Tower along one of the most famous scenic routes in the world. But the moments were captured as the mood aboard the dinner cruise drastically changed when news of the Notre Dame fire starting being reported on local Parisien outlets.
One photo showed Obama looking visibly concerned as another guest showed her holding a cellphone, presumably shooting footage of the fire. The dinner cruise’s captain altered the route due to the fire, but the dinner continued as planned.
[Related: Trump says Notre Dame Cathedral fire a ‘terrible sight to behold’]
The former first lady sent a message to the French people via Facebook, saying that her “heart aches with the people of France” as she posted a photo with former President Barack Obama and their two daughters in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral during a vacation in Paris.
“I will never forget the first time I walked into the Notre Dame Cathedral. I was a teenager on a school trip to Paris. It was my very first international trip, and until then, I hadn’t seen much outside of the South Side neighborhood I grew up in,” she wrote.
“But the majesty of Notre Dame — the history, the artistry, the spirituality — took my breath away. The feeling was almost indescribable — a place that lifts you to a higher understanding of who we are and who we can be. Every time I’ve visited in the years since, including as First Lady, I felt the same thing.”
“So being here in Paris tonight, my heart aches with the people of France. Yet I know that the Notre Dame I experienced all those years ago, as so many others have over the centuries, will soon awe us again.”
Obama also tweeted a message about the fire, along with a tweet from her husband offering his condolences to the French people.
The majesty of Notre Dame—the history, artistry, and spirituality—took our breath away, lifting us to a higher understanding of who we are and who we can be. Being here in Paris tonight, my heart aches with the people of France. Yet I know that Notre Dame will soon awe us again. https://t.co/p1mIDMbwe1
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) April 15, 2019
The cause of the massive fire is not immediately known, although authorities are saying that after a preliminary investigation the cause is believed to be accidental. The fire began shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, starting in the attic and ultimately enveloping almost the entirety of the monument.
About 400 firefighters combated the blaze, with one firefighter reportedly seriously injured.
