orthos logos

DE NON-LIEU À LIEU, NOUVEAU PARADIGME URBAIN

The beauty of the “gilets jaunes” movement lies in its ability to transform non-places, meaningless roundabouts strewn across the French territory, into places: spaces of exchange, conflict and history. The houellebecqian space, characteristic of banality and urban mediocrity, seems here to be transformed into a space of monumentality; representative of a movement fighting the evils of neoliberalism. The roundabout, an essential tool of efficiency, emblematic of peri-urban sprawl (search for homogeneity and territorial fluidity in order to obtain a speed at the height of unrestrained growth), now produces a deceleration – a brake – a moment of respite conducive to reflection; a social and territorial awareness. Continuously turning in circles, France is fighting today for a common direction.