The blades of the Moulin Rouge cabaret club’s world-famous windmill fell off overnight and crashed onto the street below, fire officials said.
The collapsing structure took with it the first three letters of the iconic theater’s neon sign, depicting the red tower standing without sails above the damaged facade.
“Fortunately this happened after hours,” a Moulin Rouge official said. “We don’t know what happened, it happened between 2am and 3am, no one was hurt,” they explained, adding that the last show of the evening ended at 1.15am.
“Every week the technical teams of the cabaret check the mechanism of the windmill and have not noticed any problems,” the source said, adding that there was no more information on the reason for the collapse.
They added that it is the first time such an accident has occurred since the historic attraction, famously home to the can-can dance, first opened its doors more than 130 years ago.
The blades of the famous windmill of cabaret club Moulin Rouge in Paris have fallen off
BEFORE: The windmill sails complete with their famous bright lights atop the famous red tower
The broken sails are winched into a truck by workers to be removed after the collapse
Shocked passersby stopped, looked and took pictures of the damaged windmill blades, crumpled on the ground
Cordons and barricades were seen around the unit, which was covered by a tarpaulin before it was removed this morning
BEFORE: Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to watch shows at the theater every year. Pictured: British dancers outside the Moulin Rouge in 2022
According to the fire brigade, no one was injured in the incident and there was no danger of further collapse. The reason for the accident is not yet known.
Images on social media showed the blade unit lying on the street below, surrounded by a cordon, with some blades slightly bent from the fall.
Shocked passers-by stopped, looked and took pictures of the bizarre scene before the tarps were loaded into the back of a truck to be taken away.
The dramatic incident at one of Paris’ most famous landmarks took place just months before the French capital was due to host the Olympic Games.
It could heighten concerns about whether Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world, is ready to accommodate the thousands of additional cities set to emerge in July and August.
The Moulin Rouge cabaret, with its striking red windmill blades, is located in the north of Paris and is one of the most visited sights in the city.
Known as the birthplace of modern can-can dance, it opened its doors in October 1889 at the foot of the Montmartre hill.
It quickly became a hit and a stop to look at the glittering facade or catch a show inside is a must-do on most tourists’ list of things to do in the City of Light.
Part of the structure can be seen on the street in front of the cabaret club before it is taken away
The red tower atop Paris’ famous monument is seen without sails today after the incident
The sails of the characteristic red windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, Paris’s most famous cabaret club, can be seen on the ground
A photo shows the Moulin Rouge around 1895. The building was damaged by fire in 1915
The windmill was opened to the public for the first time in 2022, with tourists able to win a one-night stay in the boudoir inside.
The theater inspired the 2001 Oscar-winning film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
It attracts around 600,000 visitors a year, with two performances every evening.
The only serious accident the monument has suffered was a fire that broke out during work in 1915, forcing the site to close for nine years.