In short:
Dancers performed outside of the famed Moulin Rouge after its red windmill was reinstalled in time for the Paris Olympic Games.
The mill’s huge sails inexplicably collapsed after a show earlier this year.
What’s next?
The Olympic torch relay will pass through the area on July 15 and is expected to draw big crowds.
The famed Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris got its red windmill back on Friday during a special ceremony that featured can-can dancing on the plaza outside.
The mill’s huge sails inexplicably collapsed after a show earlier this year at the iconic venue, an emblem of the surrounding Montmartre neighbourhood.
Part of the cabaret’s illuminated sign also crashed to the ground in April as a result of what its director called a technical problem.
No one was hurt, and the mayor of Paris’ 18th district said the structure was not in danger.
“Fortunately this happened after closing,” a Moulin Rouge official told AFP at the time.
“Every week, the cabaret’s technical teams check the windmill mechanism and did not note any problems.”
It was the first time the sails had collapsed since the cabaret first opened its doors in 1889, according to the source.
The only serious accident the landmark has previously endured was a fire that erupted during works in 1915, which forced the venue to close for nine years.
Images on social media showed the blade unit lying on the street below, with some of the sails slightly bent from the apparent fall.
The Moulin Rouge cabaret is in northern Paris and is one of the most visited landmarks in the city.
With the Olympic torch relay passing through the area on July 15 and expected to draw big crowds, the Moulin Rouge scrambled to repair the damage in time.
Moulin Rouge opened on October 6, 1889, and the windmill was first illuminated. It is known as the birthplace of the modern dance form the can-can.
The cabaret, marking its 135th anniversary this year, is a major tourist attraction and was celebrated in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film musical starring Nicole Kidman.
Cabaret management says its performers represent 18 nationalities and it receives 600,000 spectators a year.
AP/AFP