With massive building works for the 2024 Olympics being implemented, Parisians are organising against the systemic use of this “symbol of global unity” to bulldoze and remake communities for the benefit of elite interests. Seven hectares of allotments around the edge of Fort d’Aubervilliers, in the Parisian suburbs, known collectively as the Vertus workers’ gardens,
Tag: France
France: Cops spend their nights stopping migrants from sleeping
For the last few days officers have been showing up at camps along Paris’ Saint-Denis canal in the evening to prevent migrants from settling for the night, in an escalation of bully tactics. The area, has been an ongoing zone of contention since France opted to wage an increasingly callous war on homeless and sans
Two, Three, Many ZADs
A ZAD means a “zone to defend” (zone à défendre in French). These environmental protest occupations have recorded successes such as preventing an airport near Nantes and a dam in the region of Toulouse. This a roundup of recent ZAD news. In July this year, activists from ANV-COP21 and Extinction Rebellion occupied land in Besançon
France: Prison overcrowding during heatwave sparks hunger strikes
After an astonishing decision to crush excessive numbers of prisoners into migrant detention centre CRA Vincennes left people living four to a cell, inmates have lost patience with the situation. The Covid-19 lockdown has posed a problem for France’s border force (the Police Aux Frontières, or Paf) as it markedly slowed their ability to move
America, Empire and Us: The Benefits of International Solidarity
Solidarity demonstrations and support for the uprising in America and the Black Lives Matter movement are spreading around the world. The reaction to the murder of George Floyd quickly moved beyond America with people taking to the streets in the UK, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Canada, and Greece. Social media critics and conservatives have
Interview: Alessio Kolioulis on Colin Ward’s The Child in the City and its French translation
A French language translation of Colin Ward’s classic The Child in the City was published in March this year by Etrerotopia France – L’enfant dans la ville translated by Léa Nicolas-Teboul. Alessio Kolioulis is the author of a new postface for the translated volume (you can check out an English translation of the postface at
From dystopia to utopia: some thoughts on the confinement in France
I don’t think we’re ever going to get to utopia again by going forward.” – Ursula K. Le Guin, 1982 For many people in the world, in the last three months, things have become normal that until very recently would have seemed like science fiction. That several states have seriously considered digital “Immunity Passports” which
France: Far-right mob attack gay bar and left-wing hangout in masked rampage through Le Mans
On Saturday night, a mob of forty far-right militants, carrying iron bars, baseballs bats and batons, rampaged through the city of Le Mans, France attacking the city’s only gay bar, as well as well-known left-wing haunt, Le Lézard. The riot followed a demonstration in the town by far-right monarchist group Action Française. While Action Française
French anarchists on the strike for pensions
The following statement from France’s anarchist CNT-AIT union analyses the nature of yesterday’s general strike, which has brought out millions of people and affected everything from schools and transport to legal services and hospitals. The battle for pensions begins. But this is not a simple union battle for the defence of social gains, let alone
We are here, even if Macron doesn’t want it: One year of the Gilets Jaunes
On November 16th the Gilets Jaunes movement marked one year since it burst onto the scene and threw a spanner in the works of President Macron’s agenda.