Annecy

ANNECY | The splicers: the words of society

PUBLISHED ON 06/12/2022 by Auriana Castro – 479 views

A few years now, feminist slogans have since lined (for a few hours or a few days) the walls of many French cities.

Annecy is no exception… You have surely seen these shocking messages written in capital letters on an A4 sheet.
Armed with sheets and glue, the Collages Féministes collective in Annecy gets busy after dark.
The members, few in number, are nevertheless grounded.

“You will always find our support on the walls”

That evening, they are five to survey the city “looking for the wall to stick”. Generally far from the city center, the small group decided this evening to target walls close to the old town of Annecy, where many passers-by could read their messages.
In front of the Pathé cinema, in the underground tunnels of Bonlieu and the station, the A4 sheets and their black letters are pasted.
For the collective, there is only to hope that their collages will last until the next morning: “Some are torn off very quickly, they last a few hours, a day if you’re lucky” says Juliette jokingly.

“The patriarchy kills” “Victim we believe you, rapist we see you” “Silence on viol” and many other slogans flourished in a few hours on the walls of Annecy. Messages that are there to be broadcast: “In a few words, we describe a whole part of society. » explains Alix, splicer for over a year.
More than 130 first names drawn in red marker were thus made in front of the Pathé cinema. The first names of victims of femicide since January 1, 2022.
Behind these warning messages, the very action of pasting reveals a particular meaning: “It releases all the hate you may have inside. “. For Amélie, who used to stick in the streets of Paris, collage is also a way to reclaim the street: “We feel more at ease in the evening, we are more afraid to answer, we are more afraid of being alone, even if of course there are still traces. But overall, now I’m not afraid anymore. » A sentiment shared by Alix: “It’s a moment of sisterhood, of Adelphity, I feel supported and strong in those moments. »

One spreads the glue, a second lays the sheets and the others watch, watching for the possible arrival of the police. Because if the collages are not tags, and can be removed without much effort, the process is not legal.
In Annecy itself, so far, no member has had to face the police, during the bonding sessions, some encouragement and some insults are directed at them.
Juliet says: “I was told that we were destroying street furniture, that we were dirtying the city… there are always a few remarks or insults that fall…”
Critics that also pass over Gott, a member of the collective: “They just have to stick! » Before continuing: “I do this for those who don’t have the knowledge we have. I’m doing this for the 50-year-old mom with five kids who spends her life shopping and cleaning. Who doesn’t have time to think. To whom we have never given access to culture or sociology… That she can see that her condition is not normal. It’s going to be complicated, but we’re here and we’re together. »

Their last collage that night is in “their tunnel” that it is realized : “Sexism is everywhere, so are we”.

Like Alix, Amélie, Juliette, Gott and many other anonymous people in Annecy, many have taken over the collages to express themselves and in the hope “to make you think “.
An action far from being isolated, since such feminist collage collectives have thus emerged in nearly 200 cities in France.