Following the evictions from the Censive building and from the Château du Tertre, that saw more than 150 people thrown out, a new occupation followed the day after at the 9 rue Maurice Sibille. Help us to move in, call for solidarity.
On Thursday march 8th in the morning, the former EPHAD, an empty retirement home, a six story building on rue Maurice Sibille, has been occupied by refugees and their supporters. Around 12:00, riot cops came and pushed away the people gathered in the street, aiming at people with their rubber bullet guns. They tried to break into the building but failed. They used gas through an opening. One person would have been arrested. Some local politicians and unions members were around to show support to the refugees. After several hours of tension, riot cops left, followed by an explosion of joy. People in state of euphoria went in and visited this huge empty building. The space is in good state with water and electricity, perfect to host people in shared rooms, with individual kitchens and toilets, big common spaces, a professional kitchen, etc…
The building is owned by Nantes Métropole Habitat. A delegation met with the mayor who would tolerate the occupation until March 31st, when is ending the so called “winter break without eviction”.
In a press release, the city states they will set conditions to occupy the building. A new meeting is scheduled on Monday 12 at 14:00. The capacity has already been set by the city to 120 people while between 110 and 200 were living at Censive and the Château du Tertre. That limit will create tensions between refugees afraid to loose a living space. Others hoping for a better space to live in might want to join in. In short, occupying the EPHAD until end of March is already an obvious victory, but looking at the refugee housing situation in Nantes and all around in France, there is still a lot to be achieved.
Otherwise, the new inhabitants are happy to live under such a roof, they need a lot of supplies, food, furnitures, etc… More news and pictures will follow on https://nantes.aveclesexiles.info/
sources: fr.squat.net https://fr.squat.net/2018/03/08/nantes-ouverture-dun-squat-rue-maurice-sibille/
Indymedia Nantes https://nantes.indymedia.org/articles/40401
Nantes avec les exilé.e.s https://nantes.aveclesexiles.info/spip.php?article201
