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Windmill blades on Paris cabaret club Moulin Rouge collapse overnight

Club founded in 1889 became global symbol of Parisian culture, its famed can-can dancers depicted in paintings by avant-garde artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat

The Moulin Rouge in Paris after its mill blades collapsed to the street below early on Thursday. Photograph: Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty

Thu Apr 25 2024 - 17:31

The sails of the landmark red windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret club in Paris, fell to the ground in the early hours of Thursday.

“The Moulin Rouge, in 135 years of history, has experienced many adventures, but it is true that for the wings, this is the first time that this has happened,” general manager Jean-Victor Clerico told reporters.

“A little before 2am, the wings of the windmill gave way, fell on the boulevard and fortunately at this time the boulevard was empty of passersby. We are relieved this morning especially to know that there were no injuries.”

A spokesperson for the Moulin Rouge said the theatre would investigate the cause of the incident with experts and insurers. Mr Clerico said whatever the cause, it was not intentional.

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The Moulin Rouge, founded in 1889, became a global symbol of end-of-the-century Parisian culture, its famed can-can dancers widely depicted in paintings by avant-garde artists of the era such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat. Nowadays, the audience is largely made up of tourist groups.

The Moulin Rouge theatre, founded in 1889, gained notoriety as a place for bawdy dancing. Photograph: Moulin Rouge

“I hope they will build it up again so it will be as it always has been, the old Moulin Rouge,” Danish tourist Lise Thygesen said.

German tourist Florence Chevalier said: “It’s weird to me, [the Moulin Rouge], it’s Paris. It’s like the Eiffel Tower, it’s Paris. It’s weird, you can’t say it any other way.”

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And it wasn’t just tourists that came to see what happened.

“I heard it on the radio. As I live next door, I wanted to come and see with my own eyes what it was like and it’s very sad,” local resident Laurence Plu said. “It’s not the Moulin any more, it lost his wings, it lost his soul.” – Reuters

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