Saint-Brieuc. The footbridge still occupied by the Common Anti-Fascist Front

In Saint-Brieuc, the occupation of the Passerelle theatre, in the city centre, continues: the activists have refused the town hall’s proposal to move to another location. The theatre has been occupied for several days by members of the Common Anti-Fascist Front, a movement born several months ago in response to the racist acts observed in the West in recent years. They took over La Passerelle the day after the dissolution, but why this occupation of a performance hall, rather than a demonstration?

“Culture would be in danger if the RN came to power!

Agathe and Marion, members of the Anti-Fascist Common Front: “The idea is to come together and come out of isolation in the face of the worry that we all feel individually, and to make a political gestureWe occupy a space, which seems to us to be a relatively friendly space, in relation to what we defend, in particular the culture which would be in danger if the RN came to power! I think there were a number of us who thought it was strange that life continued as if nothing had happened… and to think that the RN could be a party like any other. We thought it was impossible to see that.”

Credit : Yann Launay

“The bad news is that there are more and more racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic and transphobic acts in public spaces!”

Doesn’t such an illegal occupation risk harming the cause? For Marion, a member of the Common Anti-Fascist Front,“ooccupying a public place with banners and solidarity things, if that’s the mess? No, the mess is that there are more and more racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic and transphobic acts in public spaces… We say to ourselves that if sometimes we do things that are not exactly within the rules, if the rules mean accepting violence, it would be more problematic. People who think that this is a return to order, for me they have no idea of ​​the violence and suffering that can be triggered from the moment that a party like that has the reins of power… Or else it’s a beautiful mess!”

A different political commitment

Why occupy a public place rather than engage in the legislative campaign? “We are a collective of citizens, individuals for certain members of associations, etc. It is not antagonistic. We are not opposed to what is happening, but it is another way of expressing ourselves in this country, without being a political party. Indeed, this is not opposed, but on the other hand, given the despair generated by certain policies in the past, this also means that we are there and that we are vigilant… and that even if the results are positive, we will still be there to say don’t forget your commitments.”

The theater is occupied, not blocked

The theater is busy but scheduled events are not canceled. “Our self-managed or self-organized initiative coexists very well with what is happening and we do everything to ensure that it happens in harmony. The objective is absolutely not to block what would happen from a cultural point of view, that would be absolutely counterproductive…”

The “the theatre is rediscovering its role as a place where we tackle the problems of the city and in no case (it is a question of) preventing cultural programming… The idea is to remind people that the urgency is that there can be some afterwards.”

Members of the Anti-Fascist Common Front plan to continue the occupation beyond the elections, allowing scheduled events to take place there. They themselves organize activities for the general public, in front of the theater: this will be the case this Saturday morning, during the market.