“Reconciliation and Treatment Commission. » It was in these reassuring terms that Cathy Bouvard, director of Ateliers Médicis, described the vote held on February 2 to authorize the submission of a building permit for a future building that will serve as an artist’s residence in 2025. via Clichy- Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis). On this occasion, the agency’s 2023 budget, including a €150,000 contribution from Île-de-France, was also approved by partners.
We have come a long way. In December 2022, the region, chaired by Valérie Pécresse, had threatened to cut off supplies and had suspended funding of 5 million euros for new buildings. The local community has accused Ateliers Médicis of funding the Les Chichas de la Pensée music festival organized by controversial author Mehdi Meklat. He was unearthed in 2017 for posting anti-Semitic, homophobic and sexist tweets under the pseudonym Marcelin Deschamps, the former France Inter columnist Afterwards, his rapid rise was shattered. The young man has apologized several times, even in a book, autopsyPublished in 2018 by Grasset editions.
Mehdi Meklat and his associate Badroudine Saïd Abdallah, who live in the suburban “Villa Médicis”, produce a monthly podcast, Les Chichas de la Pensée, connecting young people in Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil with artists from working-class neighborhoods. The adventure continues with a co-production of a festival of the same name at the Center Pompidou and the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, with a whopping €20,000 per season. Until the thunderbolt of December.
Appearance saved
Since then, the tone in the region has softened markedly. “We are in the perspective of dialogue and listening”, Anne-Louise Mesadieu, President of the Cultural Committee, commented on the project of Ateliers “relevant and necessary”. “We don’t want to interfere with the show, Make sure to choose one, But make sure that republican values are respected. »
District calls for moral charter to ensure respect for republican values
Withdrawal by local authorities would be legally complex and the €150,000 donation is included in the institution’s statute. The withdrawal of the state-territory planning contract for the construction of the future tower is equally delicate. “There are exceptions to every principle. No one is bound indefinitelySaid Kick contacted Anne-Louise Mesadieu, who questioned the legality of previous announcements. We are a community, not a counter, and we want our voices to be heard. »
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