Fire has destroyed an historic palace in the centre of Paris. At 01:30 this morning, 10th July, the Paris Fire Brigade was called to the Hôtel St Lambert, a 17th century palace on the Ile St Louis in the heart of Paris. Designed by Louis Le Vau, the architect of the palace of Versailles, the Hôtel St Lambert was purchased for €60 million in 2007 by the Emir of Qatar and was undergoing an extensive restoration. It was empty at the time of the fire and nobody was hurt.

140 fire-fighters had the fire under control by 07:30. Although they prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings, the roof was destroyed and the structure weakened with a staircase and central pediment partially collapsed. In addition the famous Hercules gallery, painted by Charles Le Brun, one of the creators of the gallery of mirrors at Versailles, was badly damaged by smoke and water. The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, and the Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti, visited the scene to express their sadness.