The future of Concrete is at risk.
A petition has been set up in support of the Parisian venue, after the company – who owns the barge – has refused to renew the club’s contract. The team behind Concrete have been issued a notice to vacate its premises.
Since 2012 the barge that houses Concrete, located on the River Seine in the 12th district of Paris, has been rented from the company Bateau de Paris-Ile-de-France (BPIF). However, after being granted new authorisation for the use of public land in 2015, the BPIF began to impose financial conditions on Concrete’s operating company.
In December 2018, Concrete’s bid to purchase the barge was rejected by director of BPIF. The venue’s renewal was also rejected in January 2019 “without any prior information, explanation or compensation.” Later in the year, on 11 February 2019, the team were issued a summons by bailiff, which ordered them to leave the premises within 15 days. Despite efforts to negotiate, BPIF have been refusing to co-operate. BPIF currently claims that it has to conduct a technical renewal of the barge.
Frédéric Hocquard, Deputy Mayor of Paris, said, “Concrete is one of the main clubs that animates and really lights up Parisian nightlife.”
“Whether through its schedule of concerts and DJs, or its creative dynamism, this nightspot participates enormously in the innovation of events, along with the vivacity and diversity of Parisian nightlife: it welcomes a young, diverse public, as well as some of the biggest names of French and world electronic music in Paris.”
“In just a few years, this place has become one of the hearts of techno music and the revival of Paris nightlife. This heart must not stop beating.”
Concrete has launched a campaign for support. You can sign the petition here.
