In Bordeaux, the Eclair circus forced to leave its site in Brazza, seeks to bounce back

2023-10-17 12:38:05

At the outlet of the Chaban bridge on the right bank, a slight left. A large open gate welcomes you onto a vast esplanade serving around ten companies, from wine trading (Dubos) to road transport (Boudot), from an adapted company dedicated to recycling (Élise Atlantique) to a specialist label printer wineries (Graphico), from the modest headquarters of the powerful Descas holding company… to a circus school.

The Lightning Circus. The atmosphere is as relaxed as it is rigorous on this Tuesday evening where members…

At the outlet of the Chaban bridge on the right bank, a slight left. A large open gate welcomes you onto a vast esplanade serving around ten companies, from wine trading (Dubos) to road transport (Boudot), from an adapted company dedicated to recycling (Élise Atlantique) to a specialist label printer wineries (Graphico), from the modest headquarters of the powerful Descas holding company… to a circus school.

The Lightning Circus. The atmosphere is as relaxed as it is rigorous on this Tuesday evening where members come to practice in these 375 m² with 12 meters at the ridge that the association rents for 2,300 euros per month from the owner of the premises, Denis Merlaut, director of Descas and neighbor SO. “We arrived here following sixteen years spent in the Rotonde room at the Bastide,” remembers Bernard Mazère, historical volunteer, a volunteer like everyone else here. The collegial association with the rotating presidency offers practice for children and adults at very affordable prices (23 euros per month), adapted circus, courses, hosting companies and shows. 200 people visit the place all year round.

Cirque Eclair volunteers worried but motivated regarding the future of their activities.

Y. D.

A greenway in the works

“We were told two or three years ago to start researching,” remembers Bernard Boussion, another pillar of Eclair. “We suspected it, but nothing changed, no new information then…” So last June, a bailiff brought them notice of the end of the lease, and the obligation to leave by December 31, 2023. “The form and the bottom disappointed us,” grumbles Bernard Mazère. “We thought that the lease might not be canceled so quickly. » Cirque Eclair asks for an extension of six months, just to do another full season, but nothing happens.

“There is no future for Cirque Eclair here,” Denis Merlaut said quietly. “Like Élise Atlantique, their space is affected by the hectare expected to change quite quickly. » If he plays for time with the Metropolis on the other six “in the name of the well-being of the tenant companies”, the manager has agreed to negotiate a triangle to the right of the bridge, allowing the community to develop a green alley ( with express bus envisaged) to head towards Cenon and its station. Discussions were already on the agenda at the start of 2022 but have still not come to fruition.

Urgent storage

Élise Atlantique has obviously found funding and land, still in the Brazza district, but Cirque Eclair is in an impasse. “We are especially sorry for our members,” said Camille Schwartz, member of the board of directors. “The season will surely end at the end of this year 2023. The urgency is also for the collective to find a place to store the equipment from January 1st. “But if someone has a track for 250 m² and a minimum height of 6 m, we set up quickly and continue,” smiles Patrice Lafon, another volunteer.

The Eclair circus welcomes 200 practitioners per year.

Y.D.

City, Department (two Eclair partners via 14,000 and 3,500 euros/year) were alerted. “I discovered Cirque Éclair five years ago through adult classes,” explains Anastasya Cornu, an architect who is practicing this evening with José Reymond, one of her colleagues. “It’s a multidisciplinary room with good equipment and a very good atmosphere: it’s a shame. » The weekly crisis meetings follow one another in good humor because it is almost written in the statutes of this collective of joyful self-management, but also in painful uncertainty.

The Cirque Eclair occupies the first hangar of the building on the right, which is due to be destroyed.

Y.D.

Three farewell meetings

The Eclair circus will mark the end of its stay in Brazza with three meetings in the place it is preparing to leave. This October 22 (3-6 p.m.), place at the Flea Market (sic) where equipment will be offered before a show “Piste d’envol et mort” offered on the evening of November 18 (8 p.m.), and finally two performances of “One last for the road” on December 15 and 16 (8 p.m.).

Declaration of public utility

The Descas site but also that of neighboring transport Péchavy to the (almost) right of the Chaban bridge: almost 12 hectares and as many thorns in the side of Bordeaux Métropole before which the owners of these plots of historic artisanal or logistical activities are making resistance. Residences are growing to the north and south, on either side of these lands considered as slowing anomalies by the developers of the new district, as job sites to be protected for owners and businesses. Bordeaux Métropole has launched a public utility declaration procedure in 2022 on this perimeter but also on six hectares to the east of the Brazza district, on the other side of the railway tracks. “Still in progress”, we are told….

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