Blades of famed Moulin Rouge windmill collapse in Paris

The windmill blades from the world-famous Moulin Rouge cabaret house have collapsed just months before the French capital is set to host the Olympic games. While the cause of the accident is unclear, Paris firefighters have said that there is no risk of further collapse.

The windmill blades were found on the street below alongside the first three letters of the building’s iconic ‘Moulin Rouge’ sign.

"Fortunately, this happened after closing," a Moulin Rouge official told AFP news.

"Every week, the cabaret's technical teams check the windmill mechanism and did not note any problems," the source said.

The blades of the Moulin Rouge windmill, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, collapsed during the night, firefighters said on Thursday, just months before the French capital hosts the Olympics.https://t.co/GpIExhpE3u

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 25, 2024

A staple on the Parisian nightlife scene since its opening in 1889, the Moulin Rouge is one of the city’s most visited landmarks, known as the birthplace of the can-can dance and accredited with the introduction of cabarets across Europe.

Located at the foot of Montmartre hill in northern Paris, initial social media posts showed the iconic red blades crumpled on the street below.

Moulin Rouge: les ailes tombées cette nuit sont en train d'être évacuées pic.twitter.com/LUeU5hOgK0

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 25, 2024

The accident is the first major disaster to occur at the club since a fire in 1915 that required nine years of renovation.