Mechanical Fire-Breathing Dragon Roams the Streets of Calais in France

Giant Fire-Breathing Dragon Operated by 17 People Roams the Streets of Calais

By Emma Taggart on November 18, 2019

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A post shared by Ville de Nantes (officiel) (@nantesfr) on Nov 4, 2019 at 8:20am PST

For most people, dragons only exist in fairytales or fantasy films, but for the people of Calais in France, a huge, fire-breathing beast roams their own streets. Don’t worry though—this particular dragon isn’t real. The mechanical Dragon of Calais (Le Dragon de Calais) was created by La Machine, a non-profit organization comprised of artists, technicians, and theater designers who work together to construct epic mechanical monsters.

The gigantic dragon—made of steel and carved wood—is La Machine’s largest creation to date. Earlier this month (November 1-3), it paraded the streets of Calais as part of an arts festival, where it was manually powered by 17 individuals each day. Crowds of people stood by in awe of the mythical beast as it stomped through the streets and breathed out fiery smoke. “Freed from the subterranean worlds, the Dragon of Calais is heading for the city,” say the makers. “This new creation built by La Machine Company will roam the city, manipulated by 17 people who give him life.”

Dragon of Calais now resides at La Cité provisoire, where from December 17th onward, the public will be able to enjoy rides in a carriage on the back of the dragon through the city—so you can feel just as powerful as Daenerys Targaryen did in Game of Thrones.

Find out more about Dragon of Calais on the La Machine website.

A giant fire-breathing mechanical dragon paraded through the streets of Calais earlier this month.

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A post shared by Compagnie La Machine (@compagnie_la_machine) on Nov 15, 2019 at 6:30am PST

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A post shared by Compagnie La Machine (@compagnie_la_machine) on Nov 3, 2019 at 5:38am PST

🐲🔥 Depuis #Nantes, le Dragon de Calais a rejoint sa ville d'accueil @CalaisOfficiel où il s'est réveillé ce week-end pour un fabuleux spectacle 😍
Le dragon des mers a été construit par @lesMachinesNtes 🐉 Une belle réalisation 👏 https://t.co/fhij1rZoL4 pic.twitter.com/oKb8vmXiSY

— Ville de Nantes (@nantesfr) November 4, 2019