Flames have gutted Paris’s oldest covered food market, a beloved Marais destination whose name recalls the red-clad orphans once cared for nearby, authorities said.
The Marche Couvert des Enfants Rouges dates to 1615. Its name refers to the red clothing worn by orphans at a neighboring hospital until 1772.
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The market was ranked fifth among the world’s best street food destinations by Food & Wine this year, behind venues in London, Bangkok, Lyon and Mexico City.
“The market was completely destroyed,” Lieutenant Colonel Pierre de Bouvier told reporters at the scene in the early hours of the morning.
Firefighters said the market was destroyed in the blaze
Ariel Weil, mayor of the central Paris district, said he was relieved firefighters had brought the blaze under control and stopped it from spreading.
“The worst has been avoided,” he said. “No neighbouring buildings have been affected.”
