His days were numbered. The La Clef cinema, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris and the last associative establishment in the capital, was evacuated by the police on Tuesday morning. The police launched their operation with the first light of day, around 6 a.m. The venue had been officially closed since 2018, but occupied since September 2019 by militant moviegoers trying to keep it alive despite recurring eviction threats.
Except that this time, the warning issued a few weeks ago was followed by the facts. “A first car arrived, they knocked for a minute but didn’t give us time to get out. They forced their way in and we gathered outside.”indicates to Release a protester present. A dozen people gathered in front of the place where they were defending an alternative cultural project.
“They took out the tables, the mattresses on which I slept, it’s weird”, testifies Antonin Passot, 21, one of the members of the collective which defends La Clef.
A mobilization is planned later, at 6 p.m., in a place that has yet to be defined. Last stand of honor? “It’s over now…” sobs a former occupant. “No, we don’t know. We don’t know what the SOS group is going to do.”, replies Antonin with a touch of optimism concerning the group’s projects taking over the walls for 4 million euros. Nevertheless, the SOS Group would like to point out that it “did not renew the promise to purchase which [les] binds to the CSE of the Caisses d’Epargne IDF, and is therefore absolutely not a stakeholder in the events of this morning”. “The SOS Group does not own this place, the SOS Group is not the authority in charge of the eviction.”
“Culture abhors a vacuum”
Throughout the morning, regarding fifty people, often very moved, gather in front of the cinema. To put a little balm in their hearts, some banners were brought by supporters. Above the entrance to the establishment, a banner is installed with the slogan “Culture abhors a vacuum” in red on a white background, the exact opposite of the pediment where “La Clef” still stands out in white on a red background.
No tension on the horizon with the police, the atmosphere is rather one of sadness and resignation. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of great movies here…”is sorry a woman with a CRS. “Yeah, but they’re not playing the last Spider-Man!”replies the agent, up since 3 am. “Oh no, but there was Brazil for example anyway” “What ?!” «BRAZIL, de Terry Gilliam» “Ah yeah, Braaaaziiiil (while singing)” Another policeman tries to comfort a former regular at La Clef: “It’s sad but it was lost in advance.”