In Paris, an agreement has been reached to save the apartment of poet Prévert, which was threatened by the Moulin Rouge

An agreement was reached on Friday evening, December 19, between the Moulin Rouge and the heirs of Jacques Prévert to preserve the apartment of the French poet, which was threatened by an expansion project of the famous Parisian cabaret, in the heart of the iconic Montmartre district.

"I am satisfied. The apartment will be saved, it's a very big step," Eugénie Bachelot-Prévert, the poet and screenwriter's granddaughter, told AFP after a meeting with the management of the Moulin Rouge.

The cabaret, for its part, announced in a statement that it had been "decided to co-create a solution together around two projects".

Jacques Prévert, whose work has been translated into several languages and continues to be studied in French classes in many countries, lived for more than 20 years in Cité Véron, a narrow dead-end street lined with vines located behind the wings of the famous cabaret, before settling in Normandy (northwest) shortly before his death in 1977 at the age of 77.

The controversy had been steadily growing in recent weeks around the Moulin Rouge expansion project intended to resurrect the stage of the legendary Mistinguett of the Roaring Twenties.

To carry it out, the cabaret had decided in September not to renew the leases of the apartments of Jacques Prévert and the writer Boris Vian, which it has owned since 2009, and which the Mistinguett room encompassed.

"All stakeholders will meet regularly to study how to integrate the legacies of Prévert and Boris Vian into the Mistinguett project, with the aim of showcasing the entire history of the Moulin Rouge," the cabaret added in its statement.

Ms. Bachelot-Prévert welcomed the fact that "the pressure" had "made the Moulin Rouge back down", citing the impact of a petition, an open letter and the commitment of leaders from the cultural and political world, including that of the mayor of Paris, "well relayed by the media".

The Moulin Rouge, for its part, stated that it had "never considered destroying the apartments," which bear witness to the cultural and literary history of the French capital, contrary to some "erroneous information."

A meeting is expected to take place in January between the management of the cabaret and representatives of Boris Vian's heirs.

Prévert's heir plans to transform the apartment containing the writer's office, his old telephone, his dining room, and his small canvases into a museum. "All of my grandfather's memories are there," Eugénie Bachelot-Prévert summarized.