Notre Dame was burning and all the world could do was watch together

New York (CNN Business)In Paris, people gathered in plazas and street corners, eyes trained on the all-consuming fire. The rest of the world gathered via screens big and small. United in helplessness. Unsure of what to say. But compelled to watch.

Monday's outbreak of fire at the Notre Dame cathedral was first captured by the camera phones of tourists and local journalists.
One of the first social media posts came from a user named Ally, who tweeted a video of the smoke and wrote, in French, "Smoke escapes from Notre Dame ?! A fire ??" The question marks reflected the day's disbelief.