“Immediate and immediate expulsion!
Six days after the hearing of December 29, the Paris court ordered, this Monday, the evacuation of the squatters who have occupied for a month and a half a commercial ground floor of the rue Jean-et-Marie-Moinon , in the heart of the Sainte-Marthe district (Xe), rented by the company Le Petit Cambodge, which intends to open a third restaurant there.
The squatters - activists from various collectives, including Youth for climate-Paris in particular - had broken into the room located at the foot of a building of Siemp, one of the social landlords of the city of Paris, in the middle of November.
Objective: to denounce the non-use of these apparently empty places for five years, but also the “gentrification” of the district as well as the scheduled opening of an “umpteenth restaurant in a sector requiring more local associations and solidarity”.
They have 48 hours to leave
The occupants had immediately changed the locks of their "socket" to install "a self-managed social center".
The order issued on Monday gives them 48 hours to leave of their own accord.
Otherwise, a fine of 153 euros per day of delay (the cost of the rent) will be applied and the assistance of the public force may be requested.
The slogan “entrenched squat” which occupies an entire window of the future restaurant is still in place.LP / Benoit Hasse
The epilogue of a highly controversial issue?
As soon as the managers of Petit Cambodge had reported the squat of their future premises (too late, however, to avoid the legal eviction procedure), the subject had unleashed passions.
And first of all because of the painfully symbolic character of Petit Cambodge, one of its two addresses (rue Alibert, a few meters from the Sainte-Marthe district) was one of the restaurants targeted by the terraces commando during the terrible attacks in November 2015. It is moreover following this tragedy that the City of Paris proposed to the company the provision of the premises which are now squatted.
“It was not offered to us.
We have been renting it since 2016
(Editor's note: for around 4,500 euros per month),
”recalls Christian Gallois, one of the co-managers of Petit Cambodge, who very little appreciated being accused by the squatters of having tried to speculate on the drama.
"The fight against gentrification deserves better than actions of this type"
The occupation of the premises also gave rise to a “political” debate.
In the former Sainte-Marthe workers' block in the fight against real estate speculation, this “militant requisition” was greeted with great kindness by associations but also by Parisian elected officials of EELV.
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“They got the wrong target.
The rents of the store at the foot of the building finance the social housing located just above.
The fight against gentrification is a real subject that deserves better than actions of this type, ”corrected Ian Brossat, deputy (PCF) to the mayor of Paris in charge of housing.
I find @IanBrossat's point of view on the #PetitCambodge squat very interesting.
For those who do not know him, he is a politician, spokesperson for the Communist Party, elected to the Council of Paris since 2008, and deputy of Anne Hidalgo in charge of housing.
pic.twitter.com/nGTWso4lxA
- Emilie Mazoyer (@EmilieRadioFr) December 30, 2020
"This file has been used," confirms Simon October, co-manager of Petit Cambodge, who learned of the expulsion order from the restaurant on rue Alibert which continues to operate for take-out during the health crisis.
“It is beyond us.
Now, what matters to us is to be able to recover the premises quickly to complete the fitting out of the restaurant and a central laboratory which will be used by our other brands ”, he insists, without knowing in what state. he will find the site.
The owners of Petit Cambodge hope to find their premises in good condition.
LP / BH
The managers of the three addresses of Petit Cambodge (the historic rue Alibert, that of rue Beaurepaire opened in 2016 after the attacks and the future site of rue Moinon) hope to be able to open their "central laboratory" by one to one. two months.
If the evolution of the health situation allows it.
For their part, the squatters, who could not be reached, refused to make any “official” statement.
A rally in front of the room followed by a "festive stroll" in the Sainte-Marthe district was to be held this Monday, after the announcement of the eviction, but they were finally canceled.
At the end of the day, a handful of activists locked in the premises visibly began to clear the premises.
The large letters that made up “l'Arche” (the name given by the occupants to their solidarity squat) have already been deposited.
The slogan “entrenched squat” which occupies an entire window of the future restaurant is itself still in place.
