Sails fall off Moulin Rouge’s landmark windmill in Paris
THE sails of Paris’s Moulin Rouge windmill crashed to earth overnight in a freak accident.
The incident, which management say is believed to have taken place around 2am, barely an hour after the night’s last show had finished, caused no injuries.
The distinctive red sails of the cabaret club, which was founded in 1889, ripped off the letters “MOU” as they fell.
Paris’s fire brigade said that there was no risk of further collapse but the reason for the accident was not yet known.
Fanny Rabasse, the head of press at the Moulin Rouge, said that she had “no explanation for what happened at the moment”.
“The wings are very well maintained, and a technician comes by once a week to check the mechanism”, she said.
Luckily, the last show that evening had ended and “logically, there was nobody left inside, apart from security”, she added.
“It’s the first time that an accident like this has happened” since the cabaret, which launched the can-can dance craze, opened on Oct 6 1889, she said.
Social media posts showed the metal sail unit lying on the street below, with some of the blades looking bent.
Kevin Havet, its deputy security officer, said that a security cordon had been set up and municipal police officers were on site.
Laurent Nuñez, the capital’s police prefect, told TF1 that “security architects from the police prefecture” had gone to the scene. Residents gathered to witness the destruction.
The Moulin’s only other serious accident was a fire that erupted during works in 1915 and forced the venue to close for nine years. The cabaret underwent major renovations during the Covid pandemic and reopened its doors in September 2021 after a 17-month closure.
The Moulin Rouge is at the foot of Montmartre in northern Paris and is one of the most visited landmarks in the city. Welcoming 600,000 spectators a year, with two performances every evening, it is due to celebrate its 135th anniversary on Oct 6.
The accident occurred less than 100 days before Paris hosts the Olympic Games, amid ongoing safety concerns.