The wings of the mill overlooking the famous Parisian Moulin-Rouge cabaret fell during the night of Wednesday April 24 to Thursday April 25, Paris firefighters told Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming information from BFM-TV. No injuries were reported, they said, adding that there was no longer any risk of collapse. The management of the establishment said it ruled out any “malicious act”, ensuring that the incident had “obviously” been caused by a “technical problem”.
“On the site itself, we have twenty-four hour surveillance, particularly on the roofs, with human presence. We already know that this is not a malicious act, it is obviously a technical problem,” Jean-Victor Clerico, general manager of the legendary Parisian night spot, told the press. The fall of the wings of the mill caused damage to the front of the cabaret, including the fall of the first letters of the illuminated sign (M, O, U).
Thursday morning, barriers were put in place around the entrance to the establishment, but the street was not blocked and a dump truck removed the wings of the mill, noted an AFP journalist. The clearing operation ended around 8:35 a.m. The capital’s police chief, Laurent Nuñez, declared on TF1 that “security architects from the police headquarters” had gone to the site, without giving any details. further clarification immediately.
“This is the first time that an accident of this type has occurred since [the] creation [of the Moulin-Rouge], on October 6, 1889,” a representative of the establishment told AFP, who has “no information” as to the cause of this accident. “This happened after closing at 1:15 a.m., fortunately,” added the same source, specifying: “Every week, the technical management of the cabaret checks the mechanism of the wings of the mill, and [she] did not noticed no problem. »
The only serious accident which marked the history of the cabaret was a fire which occurred during work in 1915, which led to its closure for nine years. The famous establishment, located at the foot of the Montmartre hill, is synonymous in the collective imagination with crazy Parisian nights, just like the Lido. Its “trademark”, the French cancan, made this institution famous, with its revues of dancers in petticoats and frills, in the footsteps of La Goulue, La Môme Fromage, and Nini Pattes-en-l’air and Mistinguett.
Every day, thousands of visitors take photos in front of the dean of Parisian cabarets, immortalized in numerous films, notably Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann (2001). The establishment, which employs some 450 employees, will celebrate its 135th anniversary on October 6; it welcomes 850 visitors every evening, during two shows, or 600,000 people per year, he said.