<div>A fire has broken out at the famous Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris and has spread rapidly across the building.</div>''<div>The cause is not yet clear, but the fire service officials say, it could be linked to renovation work.</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>A major operation to tackle the blaze is underway at the 850-year-old Gothic building, but the cathedral's spire and roof have collapsed.</div>''<div>The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year.</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.</div>''<div>President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a major televised policy speech. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in a tweet described it as a terrible fire.</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>US President Donald Trump told the incident horrible. </div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>Notre-Dame has stood tall above Paris since the 1200s. It has given its name to one of the country's literary masterpieces. Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is known to the French simply as Notre Dame de Paris.</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>The last time the cathedral suffered major damage was during the French Revolution. It also survived two world wars largely unscathed.</div>