Fifteen days after the occupation of the Théâtre de l'Odéon, more than 50 theatres are occupied across France. But what does this occupation mean? And who is occupying these cultural places? Let's decrypt the situation.
It all starts at the Odéon.
On March 4, 2021, around fifty intermittents (the name of theatre practitioners' social status) and members of the CGT forced the doors of the Odéon. They came face to face with the director Christophe Honoré and his team, rehearsing for the show Le Ciel de Nantes, which will play next season.
The choice of the Théâtre de l'Odéon is not trivial: the Théâtre de l'Odéon is a national theatre, which means it's subsidised by the State. And it is precisely the government's attention that artists are trying to attract by staying at the Odeon.
On March 7, Roselyne Bachelot, the Minister of Culture, went to the Odéon and spoke with the artists. But this visit did not bring an answer.
Claims to the government
Before talking about claims, we must understand how the intermittent regime works.
An intermittent must justify 507 hours of work in the last year in order to renew his rights to unemployment benefit and to keep his intermittent status.
Last May, Emmanuel Macron announced the establishment of a 'White Year'. This means the extension of compensation rights until August 31, 2021 for intermittent workers who reached the end of their rights between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021. You should know that this regime concerns more than 110 people in France .
In occupied theatres, theatre practitioners go hand in hand with seasonal workers such as hotel managers, who are also affected by the health crisis and the new reforms.
Here are some of the demands:
- the immediate reopening of cultural venues so that they can practice their profession after a year without work.
- the extension of the white year
- the withdrawal of the unemployment insurance reform (which will come into effect in July 2021 and which includes a new system for calculating benefits which will endanger precarious workers)
- They are also asking for a support plan to overcome the crisis affecting the sector.
A movement that is spreading.
On social networks, the hashtag #OccupationOdéon quickly became viral, followed by #OccupationPartout. After the Odéon, the Théâtre de la Colline followed then the Théâtre National de Strasbourg. Little by little, the intermittent workers were occupying theatres all over France. On March 17, more than 50 French theatres were occupied.
The atmosphere is similar to that of of May 68. In May 68, the student revolt ended at L'Odéon, 53 years later, this is where it begins.
A movement focused on sharing
Theatres have become places of exchange and sharing. Every day there are forums, committees and debates as well as concerts and performances.
At the Odeon, every day at 14 p.m. there is an Agora, click here to watch the Agora of March 17. The bar has been transformed into a meeting room for assemblies. The balconies have become rooms. The other parts of the theatre are common life areas. However, there is only one shower for the 50 people who occupy the theatre!
Below is the map of France showing the occupation of theatres, dated March 17, 2021.
