France's crisis management force knows how to do its job, thank you very much.
As the Notre Dame Cathedral erupted in flames on Monday, all hands were very clearly on deck brainstorming how to put it out. Then President Trump chimed in with some unsolicited advice: "Perhaps flying water tankers," he tweeted.
It took a few hours, but France's Sécurité Civile, which handles civil defense and crisis management, soon made it clear it had read and rejected Trump's tip. "All means are being used" to fight the flames, the group wrote in a rare English-language tweet, "except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral."
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The Sécurité Civile had also tweeted throughout the day, in French, that "the weight of the water and the intensity of the drop at low altitude could indeed weaken the structure of Notre Dame and cause collateral damage to the surrounding buildings." Interior Department officials have also said they "may not" be able to save any of the cathedral, and a spokesperson said "nothing will remain from the frame" of the building.
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