Thanks for the nice photos.
I've been working in Paris every now and then for decades, and lastly since 2013. Since I commute more than four hours a day, I have little time to spend on staying after hours to try & get such shots. Now it is too late and I'll have to wait.
The catastrophy was a shock to many friends and relatives, no matter if catholic, christian, or atheist, because everybody sees the world heritage in it (see fer instance the declarations of the Japanese government - many thanks to them). The event was, likewise, a shock to myself and to my far-eastern lady. We spent the whole evening in a depressed mood, although we knew that - fortunately - no human lives were at stake, only fearing for the safety of the fire brigade crew. The French doctrine is to attack the fire from underneath (not with helicopters, sorry Donald), which is effective but risky. Indeed, part of the crew were cooling the building from the inside, until they were evacuated because of the imminent collapse of the spire !!! remindful of WWII, where the yankees were bombing from high altitude, safe from flak, while the brits continued strafing with Hawker Typhoons. Different doctrines.
Many people "bond" somehow with this landmark. In my case it is especially about the main organ, and some its former (Vierne, Cochereau) or current (Latry) organists or assistant organists (Yves Castagnet), and their many recordings, the oldest ones dating back to the thirties (yes, and available on CDs). I could never play it, as this is a privilege reserved for the elite, but assisted a guest organist in his public performance in 1978: given the complexity of the colossus and despite some rudimentary electronic aids, it still took two assistants to pull the stops and turn the pages.
Yesterday, a friend of mine (who happens to be the consultant in charge of the last restoration in 2014) broadcasted that, after an expertise that had to be quick given the unsafe building, the grand organ was relatively unharmed, neither from the heat, nor from the water. What will take most time is to restore its "shrine" : pipe organs, their sound, hence their musical value, cannot easily be separated from the place they are installed in. This is especially true in France, where reverberation times are usually long, and both organs and their music have been adapted to it. This is very different from, say, the US, where most churches are carpeted and reverberation is basically "killed", to the benefit of the understanding of the spoken word. In the latter case, the building does not contribute to shape the sound as much.
Rebuilding the cathedral is not a matter of faith (and, in France, cathedrals are owned by the state). The original builders, carvers, carpenters, etc. are mostly unknown. The disappearance of their works would be their second death. Anyway, the restoration will cost less than couple of stealth fighters that we certainly can spare. And the money of the restoration will go to trades, some of which are at the verge of extinction in this steel-and-concrete world.
But back to photography - do not expect me to send pics in the present state because 1) it makes me sad, and 2) even a quick look is made difficult, as the nearby subway stations are closed for the time being.
