A huge fire broke out at a major recycling plant in Paris, filling the city with thick smoke and drawing a massive emergency response. The facility stood next to the city’s main court complex, a glass skyscraper designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano.
Fire Spread Quickly Underground
The fire started late at night inside the Syctom waste treatment plant. It began underground and quickly spread throughout the building. Authorities immediately sent over 200 firefighters and at least 60 fire trucks to the scene. Flames lit up the sky as crews worked through the night to contain the blaze. To help the firefighters, officials closed parts of the city’s main ring road to allow faster access to the building.
PARIS : Un important incendie est en cours dans un centre de tri du 17ᵉ arrondissement. (@AliceLEMOAL / @sebsramirz) pic.twitter.com/gIejDYziFH
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) April 7, 2025
Entire Building Destroyed
Geoffrey Boulard, the mayor of Paris’s 17th arrondissement, confirmed the scale of the damage. “The building is completely gutted and destroyed,” he told BFM television. He added, “Firefighters arrived very quickly, but the fire happened underground and then spread through the building.”
Fortunately, all staff evacuated safely before the fire took hold. Authorities reported no injuries or casualties.
Facility Played Key Role in Paris Waste Management
The Syctom plant opened in 2019 and handled household waste for nearly one million Parisians. It was one of the largest and most advanced recycling plants in the region. City officials described the facility as essential for Paris’s waste processing.
Corentin Duprey, president of the plant, said the focus was on safety. “The most important thing tonight is that a disaster on this scale did not have any human damage,” he told BFM.
Fire Raises Safety and Environmental Concerns
Although the fire did not damage the nearby courthouse, its close proximity to the high-profile building raised serious concerns. The courthouse, inaugurated in 2018, was part of a larger effort to modernize the city’s justice system and architecture.
As investigators work to determine the cause of the fire, environmental officials are now assessing the damage and planning next steps for waste processing in the city. The loss of the Syctom plant could create serious challenges for Paris’s waste management in the short term.
