A fire has ripped through a 200-year-old theatre in northern Paris that is said to be a birthplace of French cabaret-style cancan dancing. The blaze gutted the building whose internal structural supports were designed by Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the Eiffel Tower. The fire on the second floor of the Elysee Montmartre theatre spewed plumes of smoke over the Montmartre neighbourhood that is also home to the Moulin Rouge cabaret. More than 100 firefighters attended the scene, eventually bringing the flames under control. It is believed that the blaze was sparked by an electrical fault. Officials said about 10 people were treated for smoke inhalation after the building caught fire after dawn on Tuesday.