Façade of the Comédie de Caen, in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, March 23, 2021. -
Pauline Butel
The Comédie de Caen has been occupied for 10 days by a group of activists and intermittent entertainment workers in a movement of convergence of struggles.
The theater now serves as a permanent base for other actions carried out in the Caen conurbation.
The place is occupied legally and in accordance with security measures and the fight against Covid19.
In the wake of the occupation of the Odéon theater since March 4, 2020, more than fifty theaters and stages have been occupied all over France - first by intermittents from the show, artists, then also very quickly by precarious employment of all kinds, students or, quite simply, citizens worried about the situation of artists.
The Comédie de Caen is one of those busy theaters.
20 Minutes
went to report on the scene to tell you the story.
Who are the occupants of the Comédie de Caen?
Far from the hubbub and the palpable tensions during many events, the Comédie de Caen reigns in a form of serenity, while the place nevertheless turns into a tower of Babel of political and social struggles.
We now meet intermittents from the show of course, but also members of the KIC (Koordonation des Intermittents du Calvados), at the origin of the first general assembly of March 15 and the occupation initiative), members d'Art en Grève (workers in the world of culture and the arts, formed against the pension reform), yellow vests, students from the various Caen campuses and ESAM (School of Arts & Media), unemployed or workers without status, such as plastic surgeons.
So many precarious employment who suffer the full brunt of the health crisis and fear more than ever the reform of unemployment insurance.
Here as everywhere else in the occupied theaters of France, the movement now goes beyond the sole demand for the reopening of cultural venues and the White Year for all intermittents.
We are mobilizing for social rights, against the reform of unemployment insurance, the reform of pensions, to improve the precarious status of all workers in the world of art and culture in general.
At the same time, it is also a space-time for the deconstruction of traditional patterns of power and discrimination such as Alix (21 years old, performing arts student), Pauline (20 years old, philosophy student) and Nastasia (22 years old, student in sociology), arrived from the first days of mobilization, explain it to us: "We do everything so that people who are victims of discrimination are not discriminated against in this place".
These three activists are not afraid of the diversity of these fights and these demands but consider them as a coherent whole.
"We have a common line that allows us to agree on our demands" with, as a priority, "social rights for all" they summarize.
"It is neither a ZAD, nor a squat"
Between the mezzanine-dormitory, the common room used for meetings and shared meals, the walls of the theater come back to life and are covered with flags in gilded survival blankets of Art on Strike, collages and messages of protest.
The activists come and go, greet each other, exchange a few words before returning to their working groups or their meetings.
Alix, Pauline and Nastasia tell about this occupation not quite like the others: they are here legally, with the agreement of the management of the Comédie de Caen and the prefecture.
“It's almost more a shared apartment than a real occupation.
We can have meetings, we can get together, do street actions.
We have quite incredible potential and symbolically it's interesting, ”agree these activists.
It is also the guarantee of a serene struggle and a lasting occupation for the militants.
“A theater is neither a ZAD nor a squat.
You can't kick out a squat like that, or a ZAD, it's quite a protocol.
But a theater, we would get kicked out in two minutes by the police [who have a police station across the street].
Moreover, the only places occupied by force [within this movement] have been evicted, ”observes Nastasia pragmatically.
For her, as for the other activists of the Comédie de Caen, this legal occupation is therefore rather seen as an opportunity.
“It's a place that is open where we can imagine things together, a HQ from which actions can radiate outside,” explains Alix.
A typical day of occupation told by 3 activists
Pauline, Alix and Nastasia tell about their typical day, with a smile on their lips but a cool head.
Every morning at 8 a.m., when the employees of the Comédie de Caen arrive to start their working day, Farid, the much appreciated security guard, comes to wake up the militants who have remained asleep.
Then, it's time for breakfast in the common room, which is also an opportunity to organize various elements of the day.
Indeed, the activists get down to their respective missions until the end of the afternoon, ranging from the management of communication to logistical issues, including the preparation of actions, meetings or even the reception of newcomers.
Depending on the local and national agenda, coordinated with the other occupied theaters throughout France, the activists carry out actions in different places and in different ways.
On Friday March 19, for example, they decided to come and occupy a Pôle Emploi in Hérouville-Saint-Clair.
On Saturday March 20, a large gathering with collages was organized at the Théâtre de Caen, in the center of the city of Caen.
On Wednesday March 24 afternoon, a clothing drive was organized at the Comédie de Caen for the most disadvantaged.
General assemblies also come punctuated, more or less frequently, on occupation days, open to all.
Finally, around 6.30 p.m., the activists organize a debriefing of the day, continuing with a shared meal at free price and an evening to remake the world, to exchange, and, sometimes, to rediscover the talents of artists, musicians or of actors muzzled by the pandemic.
Of the hundred or so active activists who get involved, not all are permanently present.
The legal nature of the occupation allows everyone to also be able to go home, go to work or take time away.
Responsible occupation
For the occupiers, the fight does not rhyme with anarchy at all, especially not during a pandemic.
On the contrary.
The occupation, in agreement with the management, respects the standard safety protocols as well as health in force.
The gauge of people who can stay asleep has been evaluated at 20. Safety distances are respected, frost and masks are made available at the entrance to the theater so that the hundred or so active activists, passing through or occupants permanent staff, can mobilize in complete safety.
A file with names and phone numbers has also been put in place to be able to warn everyone if ever a case of Covid19 is declared.
“Everyone is respectful.
There is no nonsense done or material damage unlike other places of struggle, ”says Nastasia.
“Here, we are careful, we do not want people to be left out.
The speeches are very benevolent, Pauline confides to us.
It is one of the first mobilizations where I feel legitimate.
"
Culture
Lyon: After the TNP in Villeurbanne, the opera house occupied by art students
Economy
Unemployment insurance: The Court of Auditors puts pressure on the State and the social partners
Covid 19
Coronavirus
Intermittents of the show
Caen
Culture
Yellow vests
Theater