(Paris) The Parisian cabaret Moulin Rouge, which saw its wings fall at the end of April, welcomed four new blades on Monday, before an inauguration scheduled for July 5.
The four red blades, a mixture of aluminum and steel, arrived early in the morning by truck in front of this legendary place located at the foot of the Montmartre hill, in the heart of the Pigalle district, noted an AFP journalist.
A first wing was erected by a crane, in front of some curious and happy local residents. It will take approximately four days for the wings to be attached and electrical connections to be finalized, according to the facility. Four more days will be needed to remove the tarpaulin and scaffolding.
On April 25, the famous cabaret, which will celebrate its 135th anniversary in October, woke up without its wings, which had fallen in the night, around 1:45 a.m., for an unknown reason, without causing any injuries. The letters M, O and U, located on the facade, had also fallen off.
“Our little Moulin Rouge is coming back! We are super happy,” exclaimed Raymonde Rogojarski, who lives “just behind” and was taking her daughter Gabrielle, 8, to school on Monday morning. “It’s very touching to see the wings come back so quickly,” she told AFP.
Mathieu Feltz, another resident of the neighborhood, got off his bike to take a photo of the crane raising the first wing. “I was taken aback to see that the wings had fallen off. This morning I was passing through there on my way to work. It’s interesting to see the rest,” he testified.
“On July 15, the Olympic flame passes in front of the Moulin Rouge, so it was very important to be ready for that moment,” underlined Virginie Clérico, director of the Moulin Rouge brand, who said she was touched “ by the outpouring of sympathy in France and throughout the world when the wings fell.”
At the end of April, management affirmed that it could exclude any “malicious act”.
This mythical place, temple of the cancan, known throughout the world and immortalized in particular by the eponymous film by Baz Luhrmann, has remained open to spectators since April 25.
The management has promised, for the evening of July 5, an inauguration of the new wings with a “sound and light happening, in the presence of around twenty dancers who will come out to do a French cancan” in front of the establishment.