NANTES, France--French police cleared a 39-year-old Rwandan refugee of all suspicion on Sunday and released him after questioning the man about a fire at the 15th-century cathedral in the French city of Nantes.
"He is not implicated. The inconsistencies that came up have been clarified," Nantes prosecutor Pierre Sennes told Reuters.
The fire engulfed the inside of the Gothic structure in flames on Saturday, destroying a grand organ, stained-glass windows and a painting. Authorities opened an investigation for suspected arson. Sennes said on Saturday that three fires had been started at the site and there had been no signs of a break-in.
The man who was arrested on Saturday worked as a volunteer for the cathedral and had been in charge of locking up the building on Friday night. He had been held to clear up inconsistencies in his schedule. He was not identified.
The fire began in the early morning, engulfing the inside of the Gothic structure in massive flames. More than 100 firefighters worked at the site, bringing it under control after several hours and extinguishing it completely by the afternoon.
The fire came just over a year after a massive fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which destroyed its roof and main spire. "After Notre-Dame, the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral is in flames. Support to the firemen who are taking all the risks to save the Gothic jewel," President Emmanuel Macron tweeted from Brussels, where he was attending an EU summit.
The fire broke out behind the grand organ, which was completely destroyed, fire chief Laurent Ferlay told reporters. Stained glassed windows at the front of the cathedral were blown out and the fire also consumed a 19th century painting that had come from Rome.
However, the damage was not as bad as initially feared. "We are not in a Notre-Dame de Paris scenario. The roof has not been touched," Ferlay said.
Prime Minister Jean Castex and the culture and interior ministers visited the scene later. "The state will take its share of the responsibility (to restore it)," Castex told reporters outside the cathedral, adding that he had no further details on the cause of the fire.
