Convergence of social movements and diversity of tactics: the ZAD (occupation) of the Triangle of Gonesse in the Parisian suburb
Tonnelat, Stéphane
Convergence of social movements and diversity of tactics: the ZAD (occupation) of the Triangle of Gonesse in the Parisian suburb - 2023.
60
In February 2021, after ten years of mobilizing against the urbanization of agricultural land in the Triangle of Gonesse in the Parisian suburb, and despite the defeat of a huge commercial center and amusement park called EuropaCity, a grassroots organization resorted to asking for the help of alternative activists to occupy a small piece of land to stop the construction of a subway station in the middle of the fields. For 17 days, before it was expelled by the police, the occupation, also called the ZAD du Triangle ( ZAD: Zone à défendre), enjoyed extensive media coverage. The activists called this encounter a “coalition of movements with a diversity of tactics,” a growing trend still little studied by the social sciences. It combines legal and illegal action, openness and secrecy, the building of an alternative micro-society and advocacy for social reform. In this paper, I examine the tensions arising between activists’ cultures and show the situational crafting of a tacit agreement around the political legitimacy of the occupation, overcoming a number of cultural activist divisions.
Convergence of social movements and diversity of tactics: the ZAD (occupation) of the Triangle of Gonesse in the Parisian suburb - 2023.
60
In February 2021, after ten years of mobilizing against the urbanization of agricultural land in the Triangle of Gonesse in the Parisian suburb, and despite the defeat of a huge commercial center and amusement park called EuropaCity, a grassroots organization resorted to asking for the help of alternative activists to occupy a small piece of land to stop the construction of a subway station in the middle of the fields. For 17 days, before it was expelled by the police, the occupation, also called the ZAD du Triangle ( ZAD: Zone à défendre), enjoyed extensive media coverage. The activists called this encounter a “coalition of movements with a diversity of tactics,” a growing trend still little studied by the social sciences. It combines legal and illegal action, openness and secrecy, the building of an alternative micro-society and advocacy for social reform. In this paper, I examine the tensions arising between activists’ cultures and show the situational crafting of a tacit agreement around the political legitimacy of the occupation, overcoming a number of cultural activist divisions.
Réseaux sociaux