New Netflix drama series Notre-Dame tells the story of firefighters and Paris residents whose lives are upturned when a huge blaze breaks out at the Notre-Dame cathedral in the city centre.
The central characters include General Ducourt, a fire chief on the brink of retirement, Alice, Ducourt’s colleague who recently lost her lover in a fire, and Max, a man looking to reunite with his daughter.
The French-language mini-series stars Roschdy Zem, Caroline Proust, Megan Northam, Simon Abkarian and Alice Isaaz amongst others, with all episodes releasing on the streamer at once.
But is its dramatic tale true, and are the characters based on real people? Read on for everything you need to know about whether Notre-Dame is based on a real-life story.
Is Notre-Dame based on a true story?
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The drama itself is inspired by the real-life fire that broke out at Notre-Dame Cathedral on 15th April 2019. It’s not certain exactly what started the fire, but it is believed to have likely been caused by an electrical short.
The fire was a huge moment in French national history, given the 850-year old building’s religious and cultural importance to the country and its people.
It took 15 hours for the fire to be declared fully extinguished after a massive effort by firefighters, and no deaths were reported.
There were fears for the structural integrity of the cathedral and its towers, but they remained standing. Millions of euros were pledged by businesses and individuals to restore the building to its former glory, with works set to complete in 2024.
Netflix’s series is the second project this year to have been inspired by the fire; Notre-Dame on Fire, a disaster film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, was released in UK cinemas in July 2022.
Are the characters in Notre-Dame based on real people?
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According to the series’s official synopsis, the new show is “about the destiny of men and women who have their own fire to put out”.
The synopsis continues: “As the Paris firefighters try to stop the flames from spreading in the Cathedral, the show also follows characters being put through the wringer – they will have to fight each other, love each other, come across each other, hate each other, smile at or help each other – so that, in the end, they may have a chance to start all over again.”
Another logline for the series states that these stories have been “inspired by true accounts from French firefighters”, meaning that details from the show will have certainly been taken from reality.
However, it appears that the exact characters are fictional – they have been inspired by the actions of real people, but they are not themselves real-world figures.
Notre-Dame is available on Netflix from Wednesday 19th October 2022. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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