THE iconic red sails of the windmill on top of Moulin Rouge, Paris’ most famous cabaret club, smashed to the ground overnight.
Officials are baffled as to why the blades fell, but firefighters said there was no further risk of collapse at the landmark building.
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A spokesperson for the venue said: “We don’t know what happened, it occurred between 2am and 3am, no one was hurt.”
He added that last night’s show had finished at 1:15am.
Footage showed the blade unit lying on the street below, partly bent and mangled from the fall.
People were seen stopping to take pictures of the sad sight this morning.
Another Moulin Rouge official said: “Fortunately this happened after closing.”
“Every week, the cabaret’s technical teams check the windmill mechanism and did not note any problems,” the source said.
It is the “first time an incident like this has happened,” they added.
The Moulin Rouge cabaret, with its distinctive red windmill blades, is located in northern Paris and is one of the most visited buildings in the city.
The club is best known by many as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.
It was founded in 1889 and the audience for its dance shows is largely made up of tourist groups.
The accident will add to concerns of whether Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world, is ready to host the thousands more that will descend during July-August for the Olympic Games.
The only serious accident the landmark has endured was a fire that erupted during works in 1915, which forced the venue to close for nine years.
In 2022, the windmill was – for the first time – opened to the public and Moulin Rouge lovers could stay inside it.
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