What used to be a mirror factory...

Behind this surprising façade on Rue Menilmontant you can since 1999 find a “squart” (a contraction of squat and art), under the name of the “Miroiterie”, referring to what it used to be before -  a mirror factory.

A number of artists of different nationalities work here, some live here… 

... and it has also become a well-known place for mostly underground music  - jazz, punk, rap… with over the years thousands of concerts, including by some fairly famous groups – here an example with the “Stooges” (without Iggy Pop).

Although the City of Paris often has had a rather tolerant, even positive, attitude to a certain type of squatting, the threat of eviction is of course there and seems to be more and more serious, but for the moment a number of concerts are still programmed.