It is an unusual squat which was nestled at 216, rue de Rosny, between the walls of the EIF factory, in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis).
On the one hand, members of the Collectif Garde la Pêche, who demanded a political occupation of this polluted building.
On the other, members of the Roma community, dealers in car wrecks.
The first occupants arrived on the scene in September 2020.
Last week the prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis proceeded to the expulsion of the thirty people still on the spot.
“The eviction was done peacefully, but a person was arrested for possession of drugs,” says Gaylord Le Checker, first deputy mayor (PCF) of Montreuil.
This operation follows legal proceedings launched in May by the Public Land Establishment of Île-de-France (EPFIF), owner of this site in the protected district of Les Mûrs à Pêche.
Previously, the city of Montreuil had already filed a complaint against X for "endangering the lives of others", in 2021, 25 tonnes of chlorinated solvents, including benzene and trichlorethylene, being contained in the earth and even in the groundwater under the plant.
Repeated “chuggs”
Tuesday's departure sounds like a "relief" for residents.
“There were parties and punk concerts at least three times a week.
It had become unbearable for the people who live in the building opposite, ”says a member of the Pierre de Montreuil collective.
On the side of the parking lot, the carcasses of cars have transformed the place into an "open-air waste collection center", according to the first deputy.
Beyond the nuisances, the occupation delayed the depollution of this site for two years.
“They claimed a political occupation, in the name of a citizen depollution and against the gentrification of the district.
However, no depollution process could be started as long as they were there, and there is no risk of gentrification since there is no housing project on this site, ”explains Gaylord Le Checker.
A cultural venue project
For their part, the residents of the Pierre de Montreuil collective are asking the town hall to organize “public information meetings on depollution”.
Before it can begin, it's time to clean up.
And to prevent the risk of a new illegal occupation "the EPFIF will set up a security system", promises Gaylord Le Checker.
Once the depollution is complete, the municipality would like to make this building “a place of public interest, like a cultural place for example”.