Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Le Moulin-Rouge is a Parisian cabaret founded in 1889 by Josep Oller, a Catalan, and Charles Zidler, already owners of the Olympia. Located at the foot of the Montmartre hill, on the boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is conceived as a place of social mixing where bourgeois, artists and workers come together. Its extravagant architecture, including a giant mill painted in red and illuminated, quickly makes it a symbol of Paris. The cabaret was inaugurated on 6 October 1889, taking advantage of the enthusiasm for the Universal Exhibition and the carefree atmosphere of the Belle Époque.

The success of the Moulin-Rouge is based on innovations such as rapid decor changes, evenings watered with champagne, and especially the French cancan, a furious dance performed by dancers with daring costumes, such as La Goulue or Jane Avril. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, emblematic artist of Montmartre, immortalizes these scenes in his posters and paintings, contributing to the international fame of the place. The cabaret also became a place of provocation, as at the Quat'z'Arts Ball in 1893, where a naked Cleopatra covered the chronicle.

Montmartre, at the end of the 19th century, is a double-faced area: on one side, a bucolic village where artists (Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani) find inspiration and modest rents; on the other, a place of feasts where pleasure and transgression mix. The Moulin-Rouge, nicknamed "The First Palace of Women", embodies this duality by offering a spectacle where the female body, usually hidden, is highlighted. Attractions such as the Petromane or the comedy duo Foottit and Chocolate add to its unique character.

The cabaret crossed the eras with ups and downs: destroyed by a fire in 1915, it was rebuilt in 1921 and experienced a new golden age in the 1920s with Mistinguett, who popularized songs like That, it was Paris. During the Second World War, he became a Dancing, then reborn in the 1950s under the impulse of Jo France, who revived the magazines and the French cancan. In 1962, Jacki Clérico modernized the site with spectacular magazines like Féerie, attracting an international audience.

The Moulin-Rouge is also marked by exceptional events, such as the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1890 or the royal galas in the 1980s. In 2024, a technical incident caused the partial collapse of its iconic wings without causing any injuries. Today, the cabaret remains a mythical place, mixing tradition (with the Doriss Girls and the French cancan) and modernity, while adapting to contemporary norms, such as the abandonment of numbers with animals in 2023.

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