On 03 July 2019 in Paris, a group of individuals got together to do an action, to denounce the number of empty buildings in Paris via a banner to draw attention with the message: "Another fucking empty building"
which was deployed on an old convent that had been used as a hostel for migrant workers which had been abandoned for several years.
which was deployed on an old convent that had been used as a hostel for migrant workers which had been abandoned for several years.
This action was prolonged by an occupation of 1 year.
Indeed, the squatters took possession of this old building dating from 1925, which was a convent, a school, a hostel, and then left to be abandoned.
The surface area is gigantic (4,000 m2) with 2 cellars, 1 garden level, 3 floors and finally the attic, but above all a private garden, all in the middle of Paris.
The surface area is gigantic (4,000 m2) with 2 cellars, 1 garden level, 3 floors and finally the attic, but above all a private garden, all in the middle of Paris.
It took a whole summer to saw off the welded shutters, to clear the cinder blocks blocking the accesses with a sledgehammer, to put back the water and the electricity, to wash the soiled floors, in short to restore the hygiene of this abandoned building.
Each squat must have a name, for 61 boulevard saint jacques, there are several proposals,
but it is "Jardin denfert" which is retained by the occupants.
but it is "Jardin denfert" which is retained by the occupants.
Most of them are artists: painting, music, photography, sculpture, fashion, films.
For the others, people already living in squats for several years, precarious students who prefer the alternative squat to the insalubrious rooms of the C.R.O.U.S (regional centres of university and school works).
One of the primary purposes of a squat is to have a roof over one's head, it fulfils a need for survival.
The Jardin Denfert wants to be an artistic squat, to do so, it will start by dividing the different rooms. The garden level offers the largest open and communal space, there is the refectory which can host concerts as well as parties, the squat kitchen, a bar called "Aqua Bar", a laundry, the former central kitchen is allocated to sculpture and screen printing, a wood workshop, a mushroom house, a meditation room and a space for spray painting.
The cellar accesses are for the recording studio and the old coal cellar is for shared use with a real project defined behind it.
The ground floor welcomes visitors, where they find the free shop, a mini shop without money where one gives and takes, a projection room, exhibition spaces, a room for repairing bicycles, another for making music and finally a dance room.
On the upper floors there are rooms, painting studios and an improvised kitchen.
The cellar accesses are for the recording studio and the old coal cellar is for shared use with a real project defined behind it.
The ground floor welcomes visitors, where they find the free shop, a mini shop without money where one gives and takes, a projection room, exhibition spaces, a room for repairing bicycles, another for making music and finally a dance room.
On the upper floors there are rooms, painting studios and an improvised kitchen.
It goes without saying that the building has several toilets, often blocked, and showers, often cold. The use of the attic is random, but it is marked by the collages against feminicide that are organised for several months, making the attic a base, a feminist and political HQ.
Every squat is political. In its openness, in its social and/or artistic goals, in its proposal of an alternative place to the system. But it can lose its "alternative" side when it becomes legalized, as for example with a convention. This is the case with the garden, which after a few days received a proposal from the owner, Paris Habitat, for a legal agreement to occupy the building as long as the occupants undertake to pay the utilities (water, electricity) and to leave the place as soon as the ground is broken, i.e. when the work is done, because yes, there is a project for a young workers' hostel.
This agreement provides a certain amount of security, in the sense that there is no stress of having a contingent of CRS deployed at 6am for an eviction.
This agreement provides a certain amount of security, in the sense that there is no stress of having a contingent of CRS deployed at 6am for an eviction.
The proposed agreement is backed by political support personified by Frédéric Hocquard, deputy mayor of Paris for nightlife and diversity of the cultural economy, and Carine Petit, mayor of the 14th arrondissement of Paris, who has an interest in the green space offered by the garden.
On 3 July 2020, the Jardin Denfert squat will close its doors, after a year of occupation.
