P aris was burning, or so it seemed. Images of Notre Dame with flames leaping up its twin towers, its old spire crashing down, molten lead dropping, the night sky lit up and the sonorous bells of Saint Sulpice tolling out the apparent death of an architectural icon raced round the world in seconds via social media, registering our horror and fascination through a billion clicks.

Cathedrals, it seems, are made of highly combustible materials. But I expect the conflagration will not just be a matter of a building on fire. Smouldering beneath has been a century-long conflict between church and state in France, which the inevitable blame game will almost certainly reignite. What exactly led to the near catastrophic burning of one of France’s most enduring and popular national monuments?