Firefighters quickly brought under control an outbreak of fire on Tuesday afternoon at the Château de Versailles, where smoke was reported. No-one was injured

A large number of firefighters attended the scene, while hundreds of visitors were evacuated behind the entrance gates of the Château de Versailles. There was no damage to the collections.

The Château de Versailles was evacuated at around 3.20pm on Tuesday 11 June after a fire broke out, according to H24 MEDIA and reports on social networks. The fire was ‘quickly brought under control’, according to the fire brigade. This information was also confirmed by the monument’s official account, which stated that the gardens and the château had reopened to the public.

Smoke was visible in one of the videos shared on social networks. According to the information received, the smoke originated in a building site on the roof of the monument, near the Cour de Marbre.

The incident caused ‘no damage to the collections’ and no casualties, according to the Yvelines fire brigade and the monument’s communications department. The fire was quickly extinguished at around 4pm. Some 97 fire-fighters were mobilised, while teams remained on site to prevent any further outbreak of fire in the attic.

The Minister for Culture, Rachida Dati, praised the intervention of the fire brigade, which prevented any drama or destruction in the monument.

In 2023, the Château de Versailles, ranked as the third most visited tourist site in France after Disneyland Paris and the Louvre, was visited by 8.1 million people, 77% of whom were foreigners.

This historic monument is also preparing to host the Olympic equestrian events from 27 July to 6 August, as well as the dressage events of the Paralympic Games from 3 to 7 September.