I think the shooting was still going on but, like those around me, I could only stand amazed at the coolness, imperturbability and apparent unconcern of French generals and civilians alike who walked as though nothing had happened. It seemed hours but it was only a few minutes, perhaps ten, when the procession came back down the aisle. Beside me FFI men and the police were shooting.įor one flashing instant it seemed that a great massacre was bound to take place as the cathedral reverberated with the sound of guns. From the clerestory above other shots rang out and I saw a man ducking behind a pillar above. Suddenly an automatic opened up from behind us - it came from behind the pipes of Notre-Dame’s organ. Among them was Helen Kirkpatrick of the Chicago Daily News, who found herself a few feet behind Generals de Gaulle, Koenig and Leclerc before they began to walk down the center aisle with hats in hands. Women and children unable to escape sought refuge under cars, behind buttresses, or anywhere they could screen themselves.ĭe Gaulle and his party continued into the cathedral, with about 40 people rushing in behind them. The crowd panicked and broke, screaming, to seek the safety of the side streets. Immediately the rifle of every Maquis, machine guns from scout and escort cars, and even small calibre guns from tanks opened fire on the spot whence the firing was thought to have come.

Just as General de Gaulle, fresh from his triumphal procession through Paris after laying a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, had stepped from his car to enter the cathedral amid thunderous shouts from the enormous crowd filling the square, shots rang out, apparently from the cathedral roof. In fact, Reid’s recorder did catch at least some of the skirmish, which you can hear in his report:Ĭivilians take cover as German snipers open fire from buildings in Paris on Aug( Copyright: © IWM)ĭaily Telegraph correspondent Douglas Williams reported that firing outside Notre-Dame continued for about 15 minutes, as friendly troops once again attempted to take out the snipers. I’m afraid we couldn’t get you the noise of that firing, because I was overwhelmed by a rush of people trying to seek shelter, and my cable parted from my microphone.” “Just as General de Gaulle was about to enter the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, firing started all over the place. “Well, that was one of the most dramatic scenes I’ve ever seen,” he says. Reid comes back on the air after the gunfire stops, calm and measured once again. He tries once more to describe the scene before the recording drops out for a few seconds (the wire from his microphone to his recorder had been disconnected as people scrambled for cover). Reid falters for a moment, then briefly attempts to continue before falling silent as more shots are exchanged. “The general has now turned to face this square and this huge crowd of Parisians…” he begins, before a burst of gunfire rings out. Reid’s recorder rolled as he launched into a play-by-play of de Gaulle’s arrival. Several correspondents had set up at Notre-Dame to capture the moment, among them Robert Reid of the BBC. Priest 105mm self-propelled guns of the French 2nd Armored Division in front of Notre-Dame on Aug( Copyright: © IWM) The French leader showed no reaction to the outburst, continuing along on his route to the cathedral. Shortly after de Gaulle jumped into the vehicle, shots rang out from one of the buildings lining the route, prompting wild volleys of return fire from soldiers and tanks. The day’s marquee event would be a parade led by the leader in exile, Charles de Gaulle, who strolled down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde and proceeded from there to Notre-Dame in a car.

The old men had on their old medals, and the children were scrubbed and Sunday-dressed until they hurt. You could tell that the women had prettied up especially. It was a festival prepared for and gone into on purpose. They were actually crying as they kissed you and screamed, “Thank you, oh thank you, for coming!”īut on the second day it was a deliberate holiday. You could sense that during those first few hours of liberation the people were almost animal like in their panic of joy and relief and gratitude. The second day was a little different from the first. The following day, August 26, was to be a more formal celebration of France reclaiming its capital. Liberation day in Paris was a sea of ecstatic crowds swarming French and American jeeps and armored vehicles as they rolled into the city along the grand boulevards - even as pockets of German resistance remained in certain parts of the city. Parade down the Champs-Élysées on Aug( Library of Congress)

Bbc news notre dame