International call: Solidarity week against “anti-terrorist” repression in France

By: liberation - June 7th, 2008  Filed under: News

en francais lire ici:
http://infokiosques.net/imprimersans2.php?id_article=592
http://paris.indymedia.org/article.php3?id_article=98400
in russian:
http://ru.indymedia.org/newswire/display/20566/
Nederlands:
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2008/05/52690.shtml

IN ENGLISH:

You’ll find below a letter from jail as well as an international call for action and solidarity with 4 people locked up in french jails since a few months. They are accused of planning terrorist activity (sometimes just because they were going to a demonstration with DIY smoke bombs) or taking part in sabotage actions. They, amongst others, are pointed out as symbolic figures of the «the resurging threat of anarcho-terrorists preparing for armed struggle». The french State is trying to build up this myth as a reaction to ongoing revolts (migrants’, workers’, students’, struggles against jails…). Faced with waves of radical actions, strikes and an anger that it can’t control, the State tries to isolate part of the « movement » and create divisions. This attempt is closely related to the issue of struggles for autonomous spaces, since state officials, police and media have been accusing « political squats » to be « central ressources » of this new « terrorist threat ». We believe we have to build more visibility, better connexions and a stronger squat movement in order to face this offensive. We also need inspiration from what has been done in Italy, Germany, Spain or in other countries in roughly similar contexts.

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Aubervilliers (Paris suburb): Eviction and Social Cleansing

By: liberation - September 9th, 2007  Filed under: News

Call for Solidarity* – Eviction and Social Cleansing in France

Solidarity from the Ministry of the Housing Crisis in Paris

The Ministry of the Housing Crisis was created earlier this January in Paris (Rue de la Banque), very close to the Paris Stock Exchange, when three active groups working towards the Right to a Decent Home, Housing Rights and Evictions, occupied the entire building (DAL, Jeudi Noir and Macaq).

At present more than 50 homeless families lives in the Ministry.

Here below is a call for solidarity for a recent threat of eviction of more than 80 families beacause of the social cleansing for the Rugby World Cup taking place in Paris. As already many evictions experienced in London for the preparation of the Olympic Degeneration (and many more evictions to come).

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Dijon (France): Let’s defend the autonomous space “Les Tanneries”

By: liberation - March 28th, 2007  Filed under: News

Let’s defend the autonomous space “Les Tanneries”

After nearly 9 years of existence, the squatted autonomous space “Les Tanneries” (in Dijon, France) is being threatened by a private medical pole, secretely planned by the city council.

Without any public consultation, but with the typical secrecy that goes with electoral periods when it comes to hot topics, the “socialist” city council of Dijon is taking decisions that could lead to the end of the autonomous space “Les Tanneries”, a self-managed political, social, cultural centre that was squatted in 1998, and has since become an important node for anarchist organizing and radical activism throughout France and Europe. Needless to mention that we won’t let the council carry out their plans!

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Lyon, France: Danish consulate occupied in solidarity with Ungdomshuset

By: liberation - February 21st, 2007  Filed under: News

On Tuesday 20th (february 2007), a group of french squatters occupied the danish consulate in Lyon, to protest the threat of eviction against Ungdomshuset, demand the immediate drop of all charges against those detained during the struggle for the youth-house, and warn the danish state that its repressive actions will not go unanswered.

The consul’s office was occupied by some 15 activists, who used the consulate’s fax machine to send a communiqué to the Mayor of Copenhaguen, to the Copenhagen City Council and to the danish prime minister’s office. The office phone was also put to use in order to notify the danish police of the action, who seemed really concerned about the safety of the consul, phoning him on his mobile soon after, and calling the french police themselves.

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Nantes (France): Why are we occupying the construction site of a prison?

By: liberation - February 20th, 2006  Filed under: News

February 20th, 2006

A group of several dozen people is currently occupying the trees which are on the future site of the E.P.M. (a prison for minors) d’Orvault, near to the city of Nantes (France), in an attempt to stop the construction. We want to show our opposition in a determined manner to the state and economic violence which is destroying our lives: imprisonment, misery, ghettoisation, the politics of “security”, racism, wage labour…

From prisons for minors to zero-tolerance politics
The French government is planning the construction of 7 prisons for minors of 13 to 18 years old between now and end of the year. This would mean 420 new prison places which would be in addition to the 850 that already exist in the youth wings of regular prisons.The other planned youth prisons in France will be located close to Valenciennes, Meaux, Lyon, Mantes-la-Jolie, Toulouse and Marseille.

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Grenoble, France: Interview with ex-400 Couverts squatters

By: liberation - January 29th, 2006  Filed under: Interviews

“Les 400 couverts” was a five houses squatted street in grenoble, france. It was a place i used to enjoy a lot, and i felt like interviewing its squatters in order to make people know about it. When we actually made this interview, they were about to be evicted so it was a bit particular : barricades in the whole street and houses, dozens of people around waiting for the cops to come, but in a relaxed atmosphere and while having daily plans such has building a hut in a tree, learning how to climb on a house, collective readings of the Road Protest movement in the UK. In a pub, xavier and I asked questions to julie and alain, and to aude the day after. The three of them used to live or organize activities in Les 400 couverts. The interview is very long as the discussion was very long and interesting, i already cut large parts, didn’t feel like cutting more. Thanx loads to nico and his friends who helped for the translation. Les 400 Couverts, and another squat that was very close, “La Kanaille”, have been kicked out one week after we made this interview, on august, 2nd, 2005, with at least 250 cops, who needed about 4 hours to evict everyone from the roofs and other places… Then there was a spontaneous demo into town. This was a moving and angry end… but it’s not finished and there are still squats and many plans in grenoble. [Read More]

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Grenoble, France: Demonstration against the eviction of “Les 400 couverts” squatted street, on april 30th

By: liberation - April 16th, 2005  Filed under: News

30 TH OF APRIL 2005 / DEMONSTRACTION AGAINST THE EVICTION OF LES « 400 COUVERTS » SQUATTED STREET IN GRENOBLE

This is an invitation for a gigamega support demonstration for the threatened squatted street, the « 400 couverts » in grenoble.

30TH OF APRIL – MANIFESTA – MEETING POINT 1.30 PM IN THE 400 COUVERTS STREET.

Since a few months, the squatted street « les 400 couverts » have launched a campaign of resistance against their eviction.

The « 400 couverts » is a little street located in Grenoble city centre, squatted for over 3 years, the 400 Couverts houses 20 people permanently, a public space dedicated to free activities (debates, gigs, projections, meeting space used by various groups), including a free library, a garden, a home-made outdoor baking-oven, as well as more or less successful experiments (garden roof, vegetable plot, compost, organic pharmacy, free hardware base). All these spaces and activities were set up independently and autonomously, without any institutional incentives and hardly any money. The « 400 couverts » is one of the active basis of grenoble’s squatting, anti-capitalist,anti-authoritarian orfeminist initiatives and actions.

The owner of the buildings, the Socialist Party city council of grenoble is threatening to evict them since a year.

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France: Account of coordinated inter-squat direct actions supporting the “400 couverts” in Grenoble

By: liberation - March 8th, 2005  Filed under: News

COORDINATED INTER-SQUAT DIRECT ACTIONS
IN FRANCE SUPPORTING LES 400 COUVERTS

FEBRUARY 25TH 2005

GRENOBLE, DIJON, SAINT-ETIENNE, THONON-LES-BAINS, BESANÇON, PARIS, TOULOUSE, LYON, REIMS, MONTPELLIER, NANTES, ALES, STRASBOURG, LA ROCHELLE, RENNES, GENÈVE, NEULLY SUR MARNE AND OTHER CITIES …

OCCUPATIONS, BANNER-RELEASES, WALLINGS, RUBBLE DROPPING, DEMONSTRATIONS, OPENINGS, CONFRONTATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVES?

ACCOUNT OF THE COORDINATED ACTIONS PROTESTING AGAINST SQUAT EVICTIONS IN FRANCE AND SUPPORTING THE 400 COUVERTS ALLEY IN GRENOBLE.

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contact in Grenoble : hommage_olivier_noblecourt [at] no-log [dot] org

1) INTRODUCTION TO THE FRENCH SQUAT MOVEMENT ; PRESENTATION OF THE 400 COUVERTS SQUAT AND THE GRENOBLE BACKGROUND

2) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE VARIOUS ACTIONS AND LINKS FOR PICTURES

3) HOW TO SEND PROTEST LETTERS AND FAXES TO SUPPORT THE 400 COUVERTS AGAINST THE EVICTION…

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Grenoble, France: A Minatec’s crane has been occupied on monday december 13th

By: liberation - December 15th, 2004  Filed under: News

Since 8 o’clock this morning [monday decembrer 13th, 2004], a group is occupying a Minatec’s building site’s crane, in order to interrupt the construction for a day. The occupiers, supported by demonstrators on the ground, have unrolled a banner against nanotechnologies (« here the industry of totalitarianism ») and distributed some tracts to the passers-by, calling them to join them fast.

Over with Minatec (before it starts)
…or why we’re climbing up Minatec’s cranes while they’re building it.

Minatec will be, provided nothing unexpected happens, Europe’s most important research, teaching and implementation center on nanotechnologies. It seems that most people are bound to ignore to some extent how much social and urban harms due to the existing Grenoble’s technopolis are bound to get worse: creation of an Isère Silicon Valley, fast increase of rents and trafic jams, soaring prices, mass arrivals of executives drawing away the poors to the suburbs… However, local authorities keep putting forward the fact that « this future european innovation center, designed by people involved in research and teaching, as well as local authorities, is already internationally famous1. » But, politically, socially, what does this Minatec project imply?

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Grenoble, France: “400 couverts” squatted street under threat of eviction

By: liberation - October 10th, 2004  Filed under: News

RESIST WITH « LES 400 COUVERTS », FRENCH (GRENOBLE) SQUATTED STREET UNDER THREAT OF EVICTION!

After the eviction of le « parc mistral » (see http://grenoble.squat.net/#parc) where people struggled in the trees and on the ground all winter to prevent the destruction of a public park and the building of a massive football stadium, Grenoble’s « socialist » city council wants to destroy les « 400 couverts » a 3 years old squat project that brings life, autonomy building, subversive culture, actions and solidarity right in the town center. People there are preparing to resist and their project needs urgent support.

This text was written to inform the neighborhood and local people about the « 400 couverts » present situation but should be of interest for anyone who wants to know more about one of the creative experience and resistance of the french squat movement.

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN « LES 400 COUVERTS » ?

A WHOLE STREET PROGRESSIVELY OCCUPIED IN THE TOWN CENTER…

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Thonon, France: The train-train will survive on winter

By: liberation - September 14th, 2004  Filed under: News

This morning at 9 o’clock on the 14th of september, the trial against the “train-train” (a squat in Thonon) made by the Sncf (national society of railroad) for illegal occupation of buildings, change its date to the 28th of september on demand of the sncf’s lawyer in order to give our lawyer’s conclusion and to prepare his argumentation against it…

Moreover, the delay that we can legally get before the real trial is 2 months, and if we manage to have it, these 2 months will get us until the 28th of november… one month before the begining of the winter.

For people who don’t know the train-train, it’s a squat that began last winter, where some concerts took place, projections, discussions, etc. In a Beautiful town of Haute-Savoie with mountains, a lake, a conservative mayor…

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Grenoble, France: urgent call to support a tree-squatting action against the destruction of a park (in order to build a stadium)

By: liberation - January 31st, 2004  Filed under: News

Urgent call to support the resistance camp and tree-sit against the destruction of the Paul Mistral Park in Grenoble, France (Grenoble is a city in the east of France, near Lyon, in a river basin at the base of the Alps, which already has a big problem with pollution.)

BACKGROUND OF THE TREE-SIT:

Since November 3 2003, activists have been occupying the trees in Grenoble’s Paul Mistral Park, to prevent the destruction of part of the Park. More than 300 trees of Grenoble\222s “planetary lungs”, including and old, 200-year-old elm tree are slated to disappear, to make room for a giant football stadium. This elitist sports field and walking field represents one public space being privatized…

A protest campaign was launched by the \223SOS Paul Mistral Park\224 association, using lobbying and other traditional political procedures; this campaign was unable to prevent the project. Since it looked like work on the construction project was about to begin, three initial activists were quickly joined by more than twenty others in deciding to turn to direct action and to permanently occupy the terrain to stop the logging machines and bulldozers from coming in. About ten tree-houses, with mattresses and hammocks, living rooms and cooking spaces, linked by hanging bridges to a 20-foot-high platform, now make up a perpetually-evolving village above the ground.

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