A petition has been set up to stop the owners of the barge from evicting the popular club. Parisian techno institution Concrete is being threatened with closure.
The company that runs the barge housing the popular club refused to renew Concrete’s contract at the start of 2019 and has since asked the team to vacate the premises.
A petition has been launched in an attempt to prevent Concete’s closure, which would affect the the jobs of the 70 staff currently employed by the club. The Deputy Mayor of Paris, Frédéric Hocquard, describes the venue as “one of the main clubs that animates and really lights up Parisian nightlife”.
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 (Bateau de Paris-Ile-de-France) currently claims that it has to urgently conduct a technical renewal of the barge, while it has full authorisation to welcome crowds until 31 July 2019, and has bookings listed throughout June.
