It was a campaign promise from Anne Hidalgo. Before her re-election, the outgoing mayor declared herself ready to “take control of certain endangered cultural places in Paris, in order to protect them”. In view of the investments made in this direction, it seems that the word is kept. After the modern Lavoir (18th arrondissement), the Flèche d’Or (20th), the town hall bought, at the end of the year, the Tango in the Marais (3rd). Cultural places in difficulty which have all marked the history of the capital in their own way.
From 2020 and its re-election, the municipal team had set about pre-empting Le Lavoir moderne historic building, described by Zola in L’Assommoir, today transformed into a theater for young creation, in the popular district of Goutte-d’Or. The mythical wash house, built in 1870, was operated until 1953. In 1968, after years of neglect, it was transformed into a theater room managed today by the association “Graines de soleil”.
At the same time, the town hall had tackled the file of the Flèche d’Or, former station of the small belt, transformed into a concert hall in the 1960s and closed since 2016, which was coveted by several buyers who planned to totally transform the place.
Three purchases of “walls”, a business
Latest file to date, the Tango, an LGBT nightclub located in the rue au Maire, a real institution in the Marais for which the town hall has spent 6.7 million euros. A cultural hotspot during the week and dancing at the weekend, the Tango encountered great financial difficulties. To maintain its activity, management has been entrusted to a collective called Tango 3.0. The Bataclan case is a little different. “For the first three establishments, we bought the walls,” explains Carine Rolland, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture, while for the Bataclan, this is the activity we bought. “
But why are these places in particular saved? “There are many criteria that come into play, explains Carine Rolland, there are places on which we always have an eye, for others we can be challenged. “For the mayor of Paris to embark on a file, the conditions must be met. “We look at the history of the place, its roots in its neighborhood, the cultural offer it offers. The modern Lavoir is a hotbed of emerging theater, the Flèche d’Or a large rock hall, the Tango is an institution of LGBT culture and the Bataclan is a benchmark for contemporary music. In addition, with the events of 2015, it takes on an even more important symbolism. “
Acquisition of land to create social housing
Anne Hidalgo’s assistant insists on the City of Paris’s desire to offer its inhabitants a rich and varied cultural palette by keeping these places in activity: “These are places that often have an alternative and independent culture, so this It is not trivial for them to fall into the fold of the public authorities, but it is sometimes the price of their survival. We want to continue to allow Parisians to benefit from this plurality and this diversity. “
But this ambition is not achieved without conditions and without limits according to Carine Rolland. “This has to be part of a broader policy, in the urban plan. “Also, for the Tango, it is a real estate complex that has been acquired. In addition to the commercial area on the ground floor, eight apartments and more than 300 square meters of living space have been acquired and could be transformed into social housing. . The same goes for the modern Lavoir, which should see these dwellings appear in the neighboring building, included in the acquisition.
Other buybacks to come
This is also the point that blocks for La Clef, in the 5th arrondissement. This arthouse cinema, the building of which was put up for sale by the CSE of the Caisse d’Epargne, cannot be preempted by the town hall due to the impossibility of building above it. “We continue to follow this issue with the greatest attention and we support the action of the collective La Clef which is doing a wonderful job of mediation, screenings and debates. “
If officially, no other file is open, according to the elected, other acquisitions will follow, the envelope of 10 million euros provided for the rescue and the redemption of cultural places not being totally spent.