Firefighters declared success by Tuesday morning in a more than 12-hour battle to extinguish the huge inferno engulfing the iconic Notre Dame cathedral, that claimed its spire and roof, but spared its bell towers and the purported Crown of Christ.

What remained was a blackened shell of the monument immortalised in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a building that had survived almost 900 years of tumultuous French history but was devastated amid renovation works at the start of Easter.

Soon after the blaze began on Monday evening, authorities began clearing the area around the church of pedestrians, while residents of the city posted videos and images showing a massive cloud of smoking coming from the historic landmark.

The monument's iconic twin bell towers remained visibly intact.

Paris officials said the world famous 18th century organ that boasts 8,000 pipes also appeared to have survived, along with other treasures inside the cathedral, after a plan to safeguard heritage was quickly put into action.