Smoke billows behind the Sacre Coeur Basilica as a ‘major fire‘ broke out in the nearby 17th arrondissement, in the north of Paris, firefighters announced, without specifying the affected buildings, the other day. The entire Paris ring road was closed to traffic in both directions after the fire engulfed the basement of the Syctom waste sorting center. By early evening, hundreds of firefighters were combating ‘toxic fumes’ as they tried to extinguish the flames in front of horrified onlookers.