Paris's oldest food market, Le Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges, was destroyed by fire on Monday morning, leaving the historic covered hall gutted and about 20 traders without stalls. The blaze was reported at 4.15am, and about 150 firefighters with 50 vehicles were sent to the scene in Paris.
Ariel Weil said the market had been totally gutted and that about 20 traders had lost their stalls. Lt Col Pierre de Bouvier said there was nothing left and that all the stalls had burnt down. One firefighter suffered minor injuries during the effort to control the flames.
The market dates to 1615, when it was founded under Louis XIII, and it took its name from a nearby hospital-orphanage established in 1536 by François I's sister, Marguerite de Navarre. The orphans wore red garments and became known as the Enfants Rouges. The hospital closed in 1772, and the market was named in its memory at the end of the 18th century.
The fire broke out near apartment buildings in the Haut Marais district in Paris's third arrondissement, but the fire was kept from spreading beyond the covered market. That is the sharp contrast at the heart of the loss: the blaze was under control, yet the market itself was completely destroyed. The cause was still unknown on Monday morning, and the question now is how long it will take before traders can rebuild anything at all.
