Smoked emerged from the Château de Versailles on Tuesday, June 11 and several thousand people were evacuated after a fire broke out on part of the roof under construction, but was quickly brought under control, Le Monde learned from the estate's press office.
The fire started in the marble courtyard, a black-and-white paved area not far from the king's bedroom.
Smoke was spotted at 3:13 pm in a construction area, a press officer confirmed. The fire department was called and the visitors were evacuated as a safety precaution. The fire was quickly extinguished "with a bucket of water," the department's fire and rescue services (SDIS) told Agence France-Presse.
The Château and gardens reopened at around 4:30 pm. Almost 100 fire-fighters were mobilized and teams remained on site to prevent any further outbreak of fire in the attic, added the same source.
No one was injured and there was no damage to the collections, the press office told Reuters.
The Château de Versailles, the third most visited site in France, behind Disneyland Paris and the Louvre Museum, welcomed 8.1 million visitors in 2023, 77% of whom were foreign.
The monument will host the Olympic equestrian events from July 27 to August 6, and the Paralympic dressage events from September 3 to 7.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.