Paris's oldest food market is 'nothing left' after fire guts 400-year-old Marché des Enfants Rouges
The gutted remains of the Marché des Enfants Rouges, Paris's oldest covered market, which was founded in 1615 and this year ranked fifth in the world for street food.
Le Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges, Paris's oldest covered food market dating back to 1615, was completely destroyed in an overnight blaze on Sunday into Monday, with fire chief Lieutenant Colonel Pierre de Bouvier declaring 'nothing remains' of the structure. Around 150 firefighters in 50 vehicles battled the inferno in the fashionable Haut-Marais district, and its metal frame partially collapsed inward.
About 20 traders lost their stalls entirely; Paris Centre mayor Ariel Weil called the market 'totally gutted' and said he was 'devastated'.
Firefighters let the blaze burn through the centre of the market to stop it spreading to surrounding apartment buildings, which were left undamaged.
Food & Wine had ranked the market — named after red-uniformed orphans from a nearby 17th-century hospital — fifth best in the world for street food this year.
