In Paris, the fight of residents to save the work of a “huge artist”, which has become a symbol of the neighborhood

It is a story of rare poetry. That of a woman, among the first inhabitants of its tower built in 1987who discovered one evening in 2016 the planned disappearance of a part of the history of his neighborhood, during a public meeting organized by the developer of the City of Paris. In the plans freshly printed by the latter, where the future of the sector seems already established, a wall, which she considers highly symbolicnestled on rue Jean-Cottin (18th), has disappeared. Just like the avenue of cherry trees that leads there, against which small benches serve as a meeting point for local elderly people and around which neighborhood parties were organized.

Over time, the retiree will gather supporterswho, together, will end up forming a collective, called Resilience 18. This finally found the trace, at the end of 2024, of a beneficiary, who happens to be the grandson ofa famous artist of the 20th century. What to do influence major urban projects of the City?

A witness wall of the past

The metaphor is disturbing. In the north of the capital, a few steps from the Porte de la Chapelle metro station (18th), a wall discreetly bridges the gap between past and present. Hidden under uncontrolled vegetation and wedged between two residences, the wall covered with terracotta was still, only a few years ago, the backdrop of the festivals of this popular district. A unique and, according to some local residents, necessary touch of color, in a monochrome decor.

A figure in the sector where she has lived for more than thirty years, Myriam* slows down at the foot of her building. She stares at the inheritance that has long remained anonymous, then unpacks her bag. ” Almost everything is gray in our neighborhood. It is a sector that is becoming ghettoized, where we have the impression of being abandoned by the public authorities. But this wall, this work, is Art accessible to all and a place that structures neighborhood life. Many of us are very attached to it. » It was there, in particular, that the Bonne Tambouille festival took place.

Its originality has not escaped the famous “Backpacker’s Guide”. On his site, content creator “jan-clod” noted a “surprising decor on rue Jean-Cottin”, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. But this vestige, which has already been trimmed without us knowing how and when exactly, would be in the eyes of the services of the town planning department of the City an obstacle to the future of the neighborhood.

Suddenly erased from plans

During 2016, Paris & Métropole Aménagement (P&Ma) is organizing a meeting with residents, in order to present the Chapelle-Charbon projectofficially launched recently by the Council of Paris. “Designed around a vast park of 6.5 hectares in the long term, [celui-ci] completes the north of the Evangile district,” explains developer P&Ma.

For this, six access points leading to the green space will be freed up. One of them corresponds to the location of the wall in question, which no longer appears on the plans. A disastrous fate which recalls that of the other part of the work, erased from the landscape without its beneficiaries having heard of it.

Present at the meeting, Myriam is stunned. “I screamed,” she remembers, still visibly shaken. More than thirty-five years ago, when the RIVP – ZAC Église residence was built, the latter was one of its first residents. A place thatshe has always known the wall covered with mosaic.

She continues: “Obviously it came as a shock to me, I have lived here since 1987. But, initially, my voice didn't count because I was too alone and the opinions of the poor were made fun of.” A situation that will change significantly over time.

Causing a revolt

Nestled in a sensitive sector of the capitalthe RIVP – ZAC Gospel residence is suffering the full brunt of its various crises. Its cellars are regularly squatted and its parking lot occupied by drug dealers. This is what pushed a certain number of residents to form a collective a little over two years ago. “A structure which, unlike an association, has no no hierarchy. Where transparency is total, which avoids any corruption”, specifies on this subject Myriam, one of the founders of Résilience 18. Between its members and its sympathizers, the collective would today include “a little more than half of the inhabitants » of the residence, she adds.

A new collective force, which has completely relaunched the issue of the wall on rue Jean-Cottinearly 2024. During a meeting devoted to brawls in the Marx-Dormoy district, Résilience 18 calls on the deputy (LFI), Danièle Obono, who will later go to the collective's premises, before writing to P&Ma.

In this letter,Paris news consulted, she suggests in particular that “the artist had anticipated the possibility of carving two doors into his work. This solution would make it possible to open towards the homes of Chapelle-Charbon without eliminating the specific features of rue Jean-Cottin. » An alternative solution, like a breach in the developer's line of defense.

Guided by art enthusiasts

But it is above all the participation of Christine*, an active member of Résilience 18, which will make the effect of a keystone. Getting your hands on the artist's name could have a decisive effect on the balance of power.

The former librarian at the Forney library, a site specializing in fine arts, decorative arts and graphic arts, has an intuition. She replays the film: “The mosaic told me something, I had to get to the bottom of it. »

It then rushes to the City archives and goes through dozens of documents for months. “I brought boxes from the external reserve, it was a huge job. During the Games, I no longer had access to it, but I returned to it afterwards. And I finally found it. »

And recognized industry supporters

During her research, Christine found the name of the man behind the work. It is about Charles Gianferrarifamous French mosaicist and founder of the L’Œuf study center, in 1962. “It was a multidisciplinary team, which was unheard of at the time. They were active over a relatively short period [entre les années 1960 et 1990]which does not make their work any less important. Art Deco, too, was very short…”, she argues.

The renowned designer Pierre Gonalons said nothing else last December. “Charles Gianferrari is an immense artist of the 20th century. We will only recognize it when it is destroyed as usual,” he swore in a comment, under an Instagram post. Like him, some big names in the field support the collective's cause, such as Verdiano Marzi, in particular.

Especially since, after finding the author of the work, who died in 2010, Résilience 18 began on the hunt for his beneficiaries. “We ended up finding a first name and a place, where we sent a letter. » At the end of 2024, the letter finally reached Oris Gianferrari, Charles' grandson.

A new hope?

At the same time, the collective has been writing regularly to the 18th arrondissement town hall and to the project developer for many months. By advancing concrete options to explorerather than completely destroying the wall. Arguments which suddenly gained weight with the addition of the artist's grandson to the equation.

“I am reaching the end of the chain. The developer contacted me last October to tell me – with a form of condescension – that the wall was going to be destroyed, that there was nothing to do. I am told that it is not a workthat there have never been any orders from the City and I am offered to reuse the materials from the wall to build a new work, with a panel that will mention the name of my grandfather,” he explained to us, stunned.

In a letter from the city's planning director, sent to the latter, it is written: “In the archives found in our services, we note that […] the Jean-Cottin route already had a vocation to open onto the future district then in gestation. The artistic element had thus been considered provisionally. »

This then also reveals “technical imperatives arising from thestructural exploration of foundations of the wall carried out” by P&Ma, the developer of the ZAC: “It demonstrated an impossibility of passing under the sewerage networks to be extended under rue Jean-Cottin. In addition, the current layout of the terracotta floor, which is not very resistant, does not correspond to the load capacity requested for rue Jean-Cottin, fire department with the possibility of access to heavy vehicles. »

Driven by alternative solutions

In the meantime, the young man came into contact with Résilience 18. “We realized that, without consulting each other, we had proposed the same thing to the City, namely to create two openings on the coasts,” he said. And to continue: “For the connection of the sewers, knowing that there will be access to Chapelle-Charbon park via rue de la Croix-Moreau, why not run a large pipe through there, then connect it to the buildings via green space?

As for the firefighter route argument, Resilience 18 judges that this is a false problem. ” There is 80 meters difference if we go around via rue de la Croix-Moreau […] Since the beginning of the case, they have put forward new arguments each time one is dismantled. There's nothing concrete about them. »

For now, elected officials don't want to hear anything. “The position of the City and the 18th town hall has not changed,” said the local deputy in charge of town planning, Mario Gonzalez, on January 13, 2025, by telephone. Without this road, there is no connection to the sewers,” he said. What about the detour mentioned by the rights holder and the local residents’ collective?

The elected official from the 18th gets annoyed: “No, that’s not possible, these residents are not technicians. There was a technical opinion. This is a solution that would cost hundreds of thousands of euros and the project has a limited budget. »

Leading to trench warfare that seems irresolvable

At the start of 2025, both camps are sticking to their positions. Through exchanges of emails, the different parties try to set a meeting, which could take place, at best, at the end of January. For the moment, the members of Resilience 18 have not been invited.

“The balance of power is not really equal, since facing me will be the town planning department and representatives of the 18th century town hall,” believes Oris Gianferrari. This is why he intends to insist that they accompany him. “They have the necessary perspective on the entire file. And then this affair is not a whim of rights holders. It is the defense of a work which is part of the life of a neighborhood,” he says.

The file must also be studied at the end of January by the Old Paris Commission (CVP) – independent service of the City – which will then deliver its opinion. “He is generally very well-followed,” Christine repeats herself, as if to convince herself. Before time decides the last pages of this story.

*The first names of the residents have been anonymized.

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