Last night, we wanted to send a message of solidarity to Boris, an anarchist comrade who is in coma because of a fire in his cell in the Nancy-Maxèville prison.
In Montreuil gentrification is advancing by leaps and bounds with new buildings for a more affluent population attracted by the extension of the metro. We’re no admirers of the poor slums and traffic-ridden neighbourhoods, a simple form of capitalism, albeit illegal. But the labyrinth of alleys between the small self-built houses has its charm and allows other relationships between the people who live there, less dictated by money. A different relationship to the State too. The winding alleys make video surveillance less effective, which is also advancing in Montreuil (as everywhere in Paname).
In this context, advertising is an important vector for conveying the capitalist and authoritarian values of this society. These values include property, consumption, work, “success” and conformity. These ideas have colonised the imagination of most of the world, including the poorest and most marginal social classes. This conformism of thought prevents people from imagining something else, another life. How do you talk about revolution to people who only dream of wealth, family, and futile gadgets that fill up their lives?
So we thought that a JC Decaux van would make a good target. The one that was parked on Ernest Savart Street went up in smoke. Same thing for an Enedis van (no need to introduce it, in the most nuclearized country in the world) a little further down, rue Victor Beausse
