An agreement was reached on December 19, 2025 between the management of the Moulin Rouge and the rights holders of writers Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian, putting an end to a situation of tension around the cabaret expansion project threatening their former apartments located 6 bis, cited Véron in Montmartre.
The famous Parisian cabaret presented last October an ambitious expansion project aimed at resurrecting the “Mistinguett scene” of the Roaring Twenties. The stated objective is to find the historic volumes of the large room where cabaret star Mistinguett (1875-1956) performed intermittently for almost 20 years. The management of the cabaret, owned by the Clérico family, is responsible for this multi-million euro project which is expected to take place over five to ten years.
But this expansion project involves recovering adjacent spaces belonging to the Moulin Rouge, in particular the apartments of Jacques Prévert (1900–1977) and Boris Vian (1920-1959), located 6 bis cite Véron. Formerly integrated into the establishment, these apartments are located directly above the room targeted by the project. In September 2025, the Moulin Rouge notified through a bailiff that it would not renew the leases of the two writers’ apartments. A letter is given to Eugénie Bachelot-Prévert (51 years old), granddaughter of Jacques Prévert, and to the representative of Boris Vian’s beneficiaries, ordering them to leave the premises.
Office in Jacques Prévert’s apartment.
© Jacques Prévert Association
Despite the supposedly reassuring words of Jean-Victor Clérico, general director of the Moulin Rouge, the project sparked a lively controversy. Many personalities, including Patrick Modiano, Françoise Nyssen (former Minister of Culture 2017-2018), Hervé le Tellier, provide their support. An open letter was sent to the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati on November 21 requesting the in situ safeguarding of the two apartments and their official protection as historical heritage. The association managing the Prévert legacy launched an online petition on November 22 entitled “We must save Jacques Prévert’s apartment!” » which has gathered to date 38,834 signatures of support. The one dedicated to Boris Vian’s apartment, and launched on November 25, totaled nearly 30,000.
At the same time Eugénie Bachelot-Prévert, supported by the architect Bertrand Monchecourt (president of the Montmartre World Heritage association), filed (in October 2025) a request for protection of the apartment under the heading of Historic Monuments with the DRAC Île-de-France.
On December 19, 2025, during a meeting bringing together all parties, an agreement was reached between the management of the Moulin Rouge and the heirs of Jacques Prévert. It was decided to “co-construct a solution” providing for the integration of the heritage of Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian into the future cultural system of the site. However, the precise terms remain to be defined: how will the apartments be integrated into the Moulin Rouge cultural project? what legal protections will be put in place?
A first concrete translation of the agreement is the suspension of the deadline of March 31, 2026: the descendants of the two writers will not be dislodged. Concerning Boris Vian’s apartment, a meeting is planned for January 2026 between his beneficiaries and the management of the cabaret.
The Moulin Rouge in Paris.
