Grenoble (France): Spring walk against evictions

4. April 2010

Grenoble, March 27th: SQUAT ATTACK! http://grenoble.squat.net

An offensive walk against evictions, but not only… Newspaper office, schools, police cars and white walls are covered with slogans.

“RENT STRIKE, TOTAL STRIKE!”

About a hundred people gathered to walk the streets at 4.30pm, while it was raining. Some people are disguised, and masks are distributed.
At the same time, some left parties called for a “No Sarkozy day”: all the cops are buzy over there, letting free the rest of the town. The walk starts with a banner “Against private property, let’s take the town over!”
About four other banners are hung, some of them reinforced (“Squat your town” and “ACAB”).

Here, a nice list of the slogans:
– No evictions! Rent strike! Insurrection/Occupation!
– Squatters, tenants, solidarity facing owners!
– Down with the State, cops and bosses!
– Cops, pigs, murderers!

“LET’S BLOCK EVERYTHING, AND BURN THE REST!”

Passing near the half-liberty prison (where you have to sleep at night and go work outside during the day), some graffities appeared: “Fuck prisons”, and “No HQE [architectural projects based on the environemental studies, and spreading high-technology with the excuse of comfort and facilities], no QHS [High Security Unit, in prisons]”. Mainly, on the whole way of the walk, dozen of graffities, posters and stencils (“Rent strike”, “Evict your owner”, “Squat your town!”) are left… An old evicted squat is introduced to this local march, telling its story, while an institutional industrial building is covered with “Death to work!”.

Here, another list of some graffities left on walls, schools, signs and flats to rent:
– Cops, out of our lifes!
– Death to Capital!
– Down with the State
– School or prison?
– Burn your school!

“COLLABORATORS!”

When arriving to another old-evicted-squat, now left to some Artists invited by the mayor to prevent a fourth occupation [of the same house], the house was also re-decorated: “Artists, you are already in a museum!”, “Ainsi squattent-ils!“, and a double “Scum“. More anti-cops and pro-sabotage (yep!) were left, when paint balls got broken on white walls.

Police finally arrived behind the wild demonstration, but another evicted squat was targeted, and the walk went on, denouncing with graffities, paint-eggs and rotten vegetables the companies that collaborate to foreigners deportation and squat evictions: BTP-Isère, Actis, …

The newspaper “Dauphiné Libéré” office was also covered with paint. At that moment, people found themselves blocked by police cars. After some seconds of hesitation, they decided to walk back over the cops cars, attacking them with the several paint-eggs left and other munitions, like crackers. Panicking, the cars quickly went back, but not before a cop spray-gazzed the demonstration. Still in movement, people trashed a bank. Before police could circle, people dispersed in several streets, got changed – with no arrests.

Two persons have been arrested later, when the newspaper office windows were found broken down.

Here, more info (in french) and a lot of pictures:
http://squat.net/fr/news/grenoble290310.html

http://polisson.blogsport.de/2010/04/04/spring-walk-against-evictions/