• The Carrousel des mondes marin, inaugurated in July 2012, has been closed since January for its ten-year maintenance.

  • Thirty-six elements including imaginary creatures occupy the three superimposed levels of the merry-go-round.

  • The reopening is announced for the Easter holidays, April 9.

It was a relaxing break for this big sea monster.

The Carrousel des mondes marines, inaugurated in July 2012 on the island of Nantes, facing the Loire, was pampered on the occasion of its tenth anniversary.

Since January, all his creatures have been dismantled to then be cleaned and restored in the workshop.

Thirteen weeks of maintenance required to oil and restore color to the beast 25 meters high and 22 meters in diameter.

Its reopening will take place on Saturday, for the Easter holidays.

"The idea was to do as for the Elephant, to say that every ten years, we do a complete check of the carousel to avoid having to do very heavy and very expensive work after 30 years" explains François Le Jort, heritage and events project manager.

"Some paintings had lost their color, we could also observe the beginnings of rust spots on elements", he continues.

A meticulous work, in duo

The work was planned over three years, from 2021 to 2023, during each period closed to the public.

In January 2021, the workers restored the pediments on the marquee and the watchtower, a small observation post at the top of the carousel.

In 2023, they will focus on automatisms, the turntable and other effects.

“This year, we repainted all the metal structures.

As it was winter, we wrapped the carousel in tarpaulin to heat the space and ensure sufficient temperature for painting.

Some said that we had fun doing Christo, but not at all,” explains François Le Jort.

The tarp was removed in early March.

The difficulty of the site lies in the multiple structures present on the carousel.

No paint gun to gain speed, everything was done "with a brush and a wolf's paw".

And to restore color to the infrastructure, a dozen painters have been requisitioned.

"The first week of the project, I told the subcontractor to put the package in number of painters, otherwise they would have had the impression of having done nothing given the number of details", laughs Francois LeJort.

In recent days, technicians have put the six mechanical creatures back in place on tray 2 of the carousel, that of the “abyss”.

Next door, in the Salle de la Déferlante, others treat, oil and reassemble the small elements that “simulate the seabed”.

Second stage of the Machines de l'île project after the Great Elephant (2007) and while waiting for the Heron Tree (2027), the Carrousel des mondes marines has recorded more than 2.3 million visitors since its opening in 2012. In 2019, in its last full year of operation before Covid, some 275,000 people passed through its doors.

There had been almost as many in 2021, despite opening restrictions.

The Carrousel can accommodate up to 300 people at a time, including 85 on board the creatures.

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  • Nantes

  • Pays de la Loire

  • Island machinery

  • Island of Nantes