France, enAlternative Libertaire AL #228 - Urbanism: Against the Grand Paris ... and beyond? (fr)

In large French cities there is an amplification of the protest against the large urban 
projects, their capitalist logic and their consequences. These struggles provide more 
opportunities for convergence between social fronts usually separated.
For example, the Ile-de-France, where the whole of the first ring is affected by the 
establishment of "Greater Paris" and its many sites, against which the population is 
mobilized, "Cluster" techno-industrial research on agricultural Saclay (92) Project Europa 
shopping center City (Auchan) on agricultural triangle in Gonesse, business centers or 
artistic creation on the Plaine Commune (93), construction Les Halles ... The whole is 
"wrapped" considerable transportation construction in the form of several stations and 
tram or subway, expected life easier for residents and inhabitants, and accompanied by an 
intense propaganda as well as public inquiries and citizen consultations regularly pip?es.

In fact, it knows better than the Grand Paris, in its outside "requalification" of the 
public space, "opening" and other propaganda arguments, is nothing but a vast control plan 
stand in city centers. It seeks to attract economic agents of global capitalism 
(executives, companies) making the country competitive, attractive, in a logic of market 
valuation of the city. And of course it expels or pushes the poor even further centers, 
and these projects are charged to all others. These phenomena (gentrification, 
metropolisation), they are described by the sociologist Jean-Pierre Garnier or opponents 
in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, are well received by the social movement: it is also at the 
festival of resistance and alternatives in 2011 a first collective federation gave birth 
to Costif, Coordination for the solidarity of the territories of ?le-de-France and against 
the Grand Paris.

Federate resistance

The challenge now is to better network the collective people who are still struggling in a 
dispersed manner. But beyond that, we must realize the huge potential of a front for the 
"right to the city" against urbanization is at the crossroads of the most essential evils 
of capitalist society planned destruction of cultivated land or preserved , land 
speculation, the ongoing housing crisis, windfall contracts and other public-private 
partnerships for multinational concrete and building, authoritarian setting up projects, 
geographical exclusion of the poor, repression and placed under supervision of private 
streets ... Activists spheres who face the consequences of these logics are on separate 
fronts, and also have real political differences, but the example of Notre-Dame-des-Landes 
[ 1 ] shows that term without falling into the pasting a broad convergence fear create 
force off cooperation in the struggle against the capitalist urbanization.

Ecology Commission

[ 1 ] In previous articles we have described the similarities that cross both Zad that 
collective local support NDDL.