On Tuesday, November 16th, one month after having occupied the wasteland and two vacant houses in the Yverdon district of Clendy-Dessous, we appeared before the “Justice”, that is to say on this occasion the Tribunal d’Arrondissement de la Broye et du Nord Vaudois, presided over by Véronique Pittet.
Or rather we did not appear. Because although we had received a non-nominative summons with almost 3 weeks of delay between the date of the summons and the postmark – administrative slowness is a good thing – the “Justice” informed us the same morning by e-mail that one of us had to be present so that our lawyer could represent us. The Judge then refused to let the designated person appear, because this one was reluctant – for obvious reasons – to give his identity.
The judge drove the nail in with her gavel by asking the only owner present: “Did you, for example, show your identity card before entering? To which he immediately replied that he had not, as aware of his right as he was unaware of his privileges. The whole thing was interspersed with jabs from the applicants’ lawyer, often closer to the Vaud swearword than to the citation of articles of law.
Fortunately, our lawyer, Me Frédéric Isler, was finally able to make our voice heard in the midst of this legal cacophony at more than one speed and he clearly dismantled the arguments of the owners’ lawyer. This gang accuses us of being dangerous, of delaying the sale of their properties to the developers, while in reality there is not even a building permit yet. Above all, they claim that we are preventing owners from enjoying their property, which is not true because the rented premises are still rented and we only occupy empty premises. Let’s denounce the culprits: the interests that the landlords have brought to court are those of the promoters, De Necker Kipling & Cie, a limited company based in Nyon specialized in the purchase and sale of clean real estate, as well as the politicians of Yverdon who are imposing a new dead and commercial Clendy. They are the ones we are fighting. They are the ones who hold in their hand the sword of Damocles of expropriation that has dictated many of the individual trajectories of the inhabitants of Clendy. Let’s be clear, the owners’ representative is not himself directly concerned by the land occupations. Proof that those who have money always manage to send the others to the front line. So we waited in front of the Court, surrounded by many neighbors and friends from the neighborhood and farther away. We sang, ate delicious cakes, played cabiche-caboche, ignoring the two policemen who were watching this joyful shenanigan, poorly hidden in an unmarked car. But the verdict didn’t come that day.
Nevertheless, we are now assured that we will be granted a delay if an eviction is pronounced. A welcome respite after this grueling and frustrating week of mounting intimidation from the judiciary and landlords, momentarily forcing energies to focus on anti-repair rather than the pursuit of commons building. Thus, while we await the verdict that will be pronounced in a few days, we are more than determined to keep the tequar alive. We invite the owners of the concerned plots to reconsider our proposal for a loan-to-use contract dated October 17, 2021 and to withdraw from the complaint. The works should not start before several months, so this district could live and make live until then. There is no reason to give way to developers before their time and to avoid debates on urban policies.
Whatever happens, the gap we started to open in Clendy persists and we will be there as long as possible! Come say hello, visit the clothing freeshop, the library and the infokiosk, share a meal, weave bonds of adelphity, sing and dance while setting up the kitchen, cultivate the land and the culture of resistance… Together, we persist more than ever in the rage and the demand to build a world where use takes precedence over ownership!
Find the Quartier Libre, its gardens and its collective space “La Marmite”.
Quartier Libre
Clendy-Dessous, 33
1400 Yverdon, Switzerland
collectif_quartier_libre [at] riseup [dot] net
Tram stop Yverdon-Les-Bains, gare or Champ-Pittet.
Some squats in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH
Events in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/CH
