For Emmanuel Macron, this moment is an important one.
The Great National Debate called by him in December,
it's a way to quell the many tensions here that...
Initiated in December.
Okay. After four months of consultations, conferences,
conferences and Congress,
will Macron take it... take it personally? No, who cares?
Will he be up to meeting the challenge that he's set himself?
Okay, the Yellow Vests await a meeting without the expectation...
No, without hope. Dammit! Without hope, without belief...
Damn.
- Yes? - Elena, it's me.
- Something's come up. - Meaning?
- We're pulling the Yellow Vests. - What?
Are you kidding? I... I'm here.
Elena, I'm really not in the mood to fool around.
Yeah, but how... It's just not fair to pull the Yellow Vests.
They're the ones who have forced down Macron.
There's a fire at Notre-Dame.
- My goodness! - How quickly can you get there?
About...
15 minutes, if I run all the red lights.
Okay. You be careful there.
Okay. Okay, all right. I'll call you back, take care.
Okay.
Adamski!
***!
What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?
Taupin to command post, do you read me?
The entire frame is on fire.
Breathe!
Look at me.
- Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
Come on, let's go.
Let's go!
2 YEARS BEFORE THE NIGHT OF NOTRE-DAME
These are terrible seats.
It's not a good quartet, and the cello is terrible.
Then do what I do. Switch off.
Quiet, Ben! Shh.
Your wife was right not to come.
- I'm going for a cigarette. - Yes.
Calm down. It's just the interval.
Okay.
I'll be back.
Excuse me, sir. Could you spare a cigarette?
But of course.
Thank you, very kind.
- You wouldn't have a light? - Sure, I have it all.
I'm surprised you smoke. I mean, being a fireman.
First in 15 years.
Stressed?
Yep.
For me, it's, it's my wife playing the cello.
The...
- The cello is your wife? - Yes.
- Dad? Hello. - Victoire.
- Hi, there. - Coming? About to start.
Let's go.
Bye-bye. Enjoy.
You too.
- All right. - You good?
I'm fine.
It's very good of you to come.
Five years with the brigade.
Denis saved lives.
That's very important.
Do you believe in God?
No, not really.
I'm sure he's in heaven.
With your son.
Hello?
Why do you keep calling this number?
Hello?
General, I think we should send a fourth team to the Chimera Gallery.
No, it's too late to save the wooden frame.
And we won't be able to save the spire from a position in the Gallery.
Right, but if we wanna stop the whole vault from collapsing,
then we have to cool the roof.
Okay, up to you. But how are things in the nave?
Everything looks normal for now.
Let's locate the source and brief the unit heads.
Okay, copy that.
WHOEVER WILL SAVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT
BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR ME AND THE GOSPEL SHALL BE SAVED.
Excuse me.
Come on, I'm about to run you over. Excuse me!
Excuse me, please.
Incredible.
- Sorry. - Can I help?
- Yes, please. - You are?
- ... here. - Press? Go ahead.
- Yeah, press. Thanks. - Okay, that's fine. Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
Okay.
Yeah?
I'm good. I'm here.
- Something I need to tell you. - That was a pain.
We're sending Grégoire. He'll give his report from the forecourt.
- You're doing what? - He'll be there in 15 minutes.
***!
It's unbelievable. Okay.
What can I say? It's Mérieux.
It's his channel.
The audience has been busting his * for months.
He wants his star host in the field.
He wants an event within an event.
Come on, that's ridiculous, Steph. You know that!
Grégoire is glued to his presenter's chair.
How's he gonna get out of it?
He's never been in the field. He'll get thrown off.
Exactly. That's the event within an event.
*** seriously?
Elena.
You have to try to get ahead of everyone.
I want you in with the firefighters in 15.
Maybe, but I bet you want me in the cathedral.
- If you can, that'd be great. - I was joking, Steph. I'll call you back.
Love you, babe.
Sit down. Get your breath back.
Colonel Varèse, this is Taupin.
Do you copy?
Look out! Protection!
PS 126, we're in position on the Chimera Gallery.
Okay, copy.
We're joining Taupin and PS 221 in the south transept.
Copied.
How's it going?
The whole structure is on fire.
No way we save the rafters.
Keep working on the source.
We have to stop the vault from collapsing.
Can you reach the spire?
Hard to say.
They might have a better view from the gallery.
But they're too far away!
- Any good from the north transept? - No better than here.
The aerial platforms are positioning.
In the meantime, you need to hold the ledge.
It's over 800 degrees up here!
If the scaffolding doesn't hold, it'll fall right on top of us!
We should not have used the hose.
***.
It's pointless! We can't even see a quarter of it from here.
I'm gonna go see if maybe Brick's group can reach it from the gallery at the top.
- Is something wrong? - Nothing, I'm all right.
Sure?
Yes, I'm sure.
Okay.
- Hello. - Hello. Table for two?
Two, please. Thanks.
I just wanted to let you know things aren't going very well with Ben.
What are you saying?
Well, he and I have agreed to get a divorce.
But he couldn't bear to say it.
We actually knew early on it wouldn't work.
Even though we both thought...
we said to ourselves it would be all right.
But there you go.
We've barely seen each other since last summer,
and, well, he's been seeing someone else for the last few months.
And, well, so have I.
I'm so sorry.
You know, he didn't want to hurt you.
It's all right.
Hello?
Rico didn't like me coming back empty-handed.
And I didn't appreciate you talking *.
Years ago, when you were in a mess, he helped with your business.
- Helped with the money. - Serge, that's enough. I don't have time.
You think I've nothing better to do than chase you around?
- I like this car. - It's not mine.
- Whose is it, then? - The woman I love.
The woman you love.
That's nice.
Does the * have money?
You see his face? He didn't like me calling her a*?
Get out! Out! Out! Out!
So what does it feel to have this thing pointed at your face? Answer me!
Next time, bring a hammer!
Where's the other one?
Where is he? Who's the * now?
- Answer! Who's the*? - It's me, it's me, it's me!
It's me!
Stupid ***.
- Is it broken? Take that! - You ***
You wanker!
Come on. Start, start.
***er.
Hey. What are you doing here?
Hello?
Where are your parents?
He's over there. My dad is the captain, yeah?
And he wants me to see him.
Who is your dad?
- Hamidou. - Hamidou what?
Diallo, like me. Captain Hamidou Diallo.
Or Colonel. He's really high up, you know.
Well, let's see, then.
Come along.
Anyone here named Hamidou Diallo?
What is it? What's going on with that kid?
Get back! Stay back!
My ball!
My ball, my ball!
Hey! Help, people! There's a kid drowning here!
- My ball! - Help! There's a kid drowning over here!
He's just over there, right in...
My ball! My ball!
My ball!
Hold on.
My ball!
Stop!
Calm down!
- Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
But I lost my ball!
- Your ball? - Yeah.
You jumped in after your ball?
Will you look at me? You know we both could've died in there.
Yeah, but that ball belonged to my dad.
Because that's your dad's ball?
Really?
You know, you should think before acting stupid.
Wouldn't your dad prefer to have a son than a ball?
COMMAND POST PC3
Colonel, there's no one left on the structure.
They've come down to the first ledge.
I need visuals. Where are we with the drones?
We have to ask the Police Commissioner for drones.
The fireboats are at Bercy.
This is where we collect and handle
all the information that comes in from the field,
but also anything extra from the media.
General.
Any news on the aerial platforms?
Lieutenant?
It'll be at least another half hour, General.
And the fireboats?
They're on their way from Bercy.
How many teams are running?
Six.
Five on the way, six already in position. They're awaiting orders, General.
What about Taupin, his team?
- Tough, but they're holding up. - South side access is locked.
We'll deposit the equipment outside.
We'll be back as soon as we can.
Antony?
Antony!
Beg your pardon! Sorry, miss.
- You okay? - Fine, fine.
Antony!
Antony! Antony!
Man!
Hello.
What's going on here?
Nothing. Just waiting for a footballer to come out of his flat.
- James Larier, is it? - Yeah.
Yeah. Up there. Top floor.
Thanks.
- Yes? - Hey, it's me.
What you mean, "me"?
Sorry, got the wrong number.
- Yes? - It's me.
It's about time!
Good evening.
It's Victoire!
Victoire! Victoire!
*** off! Who the *** are you?
***'s sake, who are you? ***!
Where's Victoire?
Victoire!
Honey, call the police! Go on!
"Honey"?
- So who's Victoire? - Victoire!
Just forget I exist. It's over! Yeah.
Just get on with your own crappy life. Bloody transfer.
Your bloody *s and all your other*!
Where's Victoire? Where is she?
Who's she? Who's Victoire?
Not now. No.
- Is it terrorism? - Up there. We need somebody up there.
What is this, then?
I disagree.
There are too many conspiracy theories not to allow a reporter to shadow you.
No, no, no. There's enough pandemonium with all the comm services
trying to secure re-election or promoting whoever they want.
I think there's enough cameras.
They'll think we're hiding something.
Who's handling the fire? Us or Twitter?
If your team takes the pictures it needs, we'll provide the drones.
And the Minister will handle communications, not you.
You have just one job to do. Save Notre-Dame.
Sorry, but we really need to tell the police to move their cars.
- Or we'll move them. Okay? - Copy that.
South transept, a colleague is bringing another hose.
- Okay. - Thanks.
This is Colombier.
We need backup to help evacuate buildings
in Quai de Montebello.
- I'll try to arrange that. - Thanks.
Sévigné, from the third regiment.
- it's good to see you. - Tell me how we can help.
Right now, we need to shut off the gas supply near the hospital.
- Okay. - Access is through the sewers.
There, there, and maybe there. I'm not sure, you'll need to check.
- Okay, got it. Let's go. - Thanks.
- Hi. - Hi.
I can't believe it. Wow.
You haven't changed.
- Really? - Really.
Neither have you.
But you're...
You look in better shape.
Yeah, well, I worked out to get into the brigade.
I didn't know. So you're a firefighter?
Apparently.
- No, I mean, here in Paris. - Yeah.
Okay.
It's been an age.
Well, yeah.
Six years.
Seven.
And a bit.
Well, thereabouts.
Um, my... my channel was picked by the Commissioner and Prefect
to report on the operation.
And they called me, as I was nearby.
They asked you to cover this?
Well, yeah.
So, how's it going?
Here.
Images pass through here
and then the mainframe where other channels get to use them.
Don't film anything sensitive.
Information isn't censored in France. Know that?
Yeah, I heard that. Here.
Keep this earpiece on. I need to be able to contact you any time.
Watch where you walk and for anything that could fall on you.
And stay away from hot surfaces.
And do as you're told by the firemen.
They give you a guide?
Of course. Cool.
Appreciate it.
Steph?
I'm connected to the central. We're in.
You serious? How did you manage that?
I found a way.
I knew you would.
Next job, get into the cathedral. Call you back.
There, drink this now. It'll help.
Drink.
- You're not having one. - No, I don't have time.
I'm pretty *** up.
Really *** up.
James, you have to put things in perspective.
About six years ago, I was the king of Paris.
I had two clubs and a restaurant. How long have you been here?
- What, at the training centre? - Yeah.
Maybe about six years or something.
They come and go, PSG guys. Back then, business was booming out.
But the city decided I was a problem.
Admin checks, health inspections, audits.
Closures because of noise.
Drug busts. I had it all, until I got permanently shut and went bankrupt.
But you see, I'm still here.
And you?
What position do you play?
- Attacking midfielder. - You any good?
Yeah, I am.
Well, if you're a good player, you'll find another club.
Trust me.
Right.
Now you're feeling better, you can tell me.
What do you know of Victoire?
Here, that's her.
- That's her? - Yes.
Well, I know her.
I was with her last night. She's a total slut.
- She stole... Hey! - What did you say?
You had better watch your mouth. You don't talk about girls that way.
Okay, okay.
- Take a good look. - Yeah, I'm sure it's her.
She went and stole my Mojo.
Your what?
My Mojo. It's a... it's a chain...
A gold cross that has diamonds.
I always have it on, and I wake up this morning, and it's gone.
And the other girls, who are they?
I don't know her, but, yeah, that's Raina.
Raina? She's a friend of Victoire's?
Well, yeah, she's the one who brought her along.
You have a number?
Here.
You have a car?
I have a few, so what?
- Is this Raina? - Yeah, speaking.
Hi, I'm Max. I'd really like to meet. Are you available?
- When, now? - Yes, now would be perfect.
This music is*.
There we are.
Can you manage on your own now, or not?
No.
No, you can't?
No, I can't. No.
- You sure he's over there? - Yeah.
Why are you shaking like that? Are you really that cold?
Well, yeah.
Okay, don't move. I'll be right back. Don't move.
- Here, put this on. - What is it, a cape?
Yeah, it's like a superhero.
- What's your name? - Billy. And you?
- My name's Victoire. - Victoire's pretty.
Yeah.
Well, don't get too attached 'cause our story ends here.
Can you help me?
Do you think it'd be possible to get through?
Because the boy needs to speak to his dad. It's important.
- Yeah, yeah sure. - You don't mind? Thanks.
Let's go.
Right. You wait here, okay?
- Wait, what's your dad called? - Hamidou.
- Hamidou, that's all? - Hamidou Diallo.
Excuse me, excuse me.
Um, please, can I ask of you...
- Just go around. You can't be here. - No, I know.
I just need one minute.
- That kid's dad's here. - What's his dad go by?
He's called Hamidou Diallo.
- Don't know him. Do you? - No, I don't.
- Sure his father's with the BSPP? - I don't.
- Is your dad with the BSPP? - Yes.
- Do you know what the BSPP is? - No.
***. I'm sorry, but I can't look after him, okay?
He said he's waiting here for his father, but I've got to leave soon for a flight.
Yeah, but we're kind of busy. Go and ask the police, they'll help.
Amazing. You're the best.
All right, listen, Billy, look.
I have an important place that I have to be.
You need to help me. Where do you live? Is there somewhere you can go?
In Saint-Denis with my sisters.
Your sisters know you're here? Did you tell them?
- I forgot to tell them. - ***.
You know, you can't just leave your home like that.
It's too dangerous.
Billy, it's dangerous.
I haven't got the time to take you home, Billy.
I must get to the airport.
It's okay. I'll come too.
No, that's impossible. Come on, let's go, then.
We'll find a mobile and call your sisters.
There's no point! I don't remember their numbers.
I don't know them.
- Antony, can you hear? - Yes, yes, I hear you.
Tell me, whose permission do I need to film inside the cathedral?
Mine, and I'm telling you no.
There's no way.
It's too dangerous for us, so for journalists...
We're not talking about any journalist here.
Yeah, that's what I mean.
I'm not asking to get near the fire. I just wanna get a few pictures.
Listen, forget it.
Hold on. Who are you with? Are you on your own?
No, no, no.
It feels so weird to hear your voice.
I mean, it feels nice, but weird.
Yeah, same.
Have you been in Paris long?
Two years.
And you don't miss La Réunion?
Sure. Sometimes, yeah.
SOUVENIR FROM LA RÉUNION
You?
I do sometimes.
- Elena, you there? - Yeah.
We still live over there? Because there's no picture.
- Did you cut the sound? - No. I, Well, yeah, it was glitching.
Elena, can you hear me?
What's with the new headsets? Are they okay?
Where are you now?
Well, I'm trying to find a way to move into the cathedral.
Are you okay?
You sound weird.
Not at all. I'm fine.
- Are you sure? - Yeah, I'm sure.
Hang on, I could be on my way through.
Hi, there. BFM. Could you explain what exactly's going on?
What's happening is that... that it's... It's tricky.
Tricky? What do you mean?
Miss, it's not really for me to say.
Sure, but could you tell me a bit about what you were doing?
Sure.
We were just in the nave stopping the fire spreading.
So it's got to the nave?
Not yet, but if you ask me,
won't be long before it does.
Elena, Elena, listen to me. Do what you can to get into the nave.
Can you show me?
She has to get in.
No, no, it's dangerous.
But I've been granted full access to film.
Just at the entrance, one second.
Come on, please. Just a few seconds.
Promise.
And you can come with me.
Who's she?
She's got permission. Wants to film the nave for a few seconds.
I'll be right by the entrance. A few seconds, then I'm out.
Who gave permission?
Hold on, hold on. Don't panic.
General Ducourt and the Police Commissioner.
Do you want to chat with my parents too?
She can have ten seconds.
She's amazing.
The wind's coming from the east. It's pushing the fire towards the towers.
It means that the roof... well, it's spreading underneath.
I don't know if we can save it.
Think we should focus on saving the towers?
Yeah, we might be able to. But for now, they're unaffected.
I need to go back in
because I don't understand how they connect to the structure.
What do you think is the priority?
Priority? It's really hard to say.
Okay. See that?
There's a crack in the nave.
Right above the altar, near the keystone. And you understand...
- The keystone holds up the vault. - Here.
It was you.
All those calls.
It was me.
You shouldn't have put us in that position.
What is it you're blaming me for?
Taking too many risks?
Sending men to their death?
Or killing my son?
The risk was fully accepted and approved.
A fallen firefighter isn't a victim.
He chooses his destiny.
There were people in that building who needed saving.
We had to go in.
Sure, nice speech.
It's true.
But it can't all be about that.
Death.
And we all need a nice story to...
come to terms with our mistakes.
You managed to get out. That's what counts.
What do you want? Do you know?
You want me to resign?
I'll resign.
I want...
Ben and me were very... very much in love.
That's all. I just want you to realize.
To understand.
General!
The columns near the altar are shaking. I need another team.
We need to position them at the base of the first belfry.
I've been fighting fires for 30 years.
Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.
Thirty years.
My longest relationship.
I'm gonna resign tomorrow.
I have the letter on me.
And it's not just because of Ben's death.
There have been so many more.
You never get used to it. No one can.
It troubles you.
But what are you blaming yourself for?
Our lives are at risk. We know that.
Ben knew that, as well.
Knowing it is one thing.
It's another to accept it.
Varèse,
help me go out on a win.
Save the cathedral without losing a soul.
It's going to collapse!
Stand back! Get back, get back!
Get back, all of you!
Get back!
No more risks.
BASED ON THE BOOK "LA NUIT DE NOTRE-DAME"
WRITTEN BY THE PARIS FIRE DEPARTMENT AND ROMAIN GUBERT