"Paris without the Lido is no longer Paris": last protest dance for the Lido troupe

The mythical Parisian cabaret which celebrates its seventy-fifth year will definitely put away its feathers. They "don't have the words", so they dance: around 25 dancers and dancers from the Lido organized an action in front of the cabaret on Saturday, avenue des Champs-Élysées, to protest against a plan to transform one of the flagship institutions of the Parisian night. "I don't have the words. I grew up with the Lido, it was already my mother's dream and I've been there for 10 years. It's not just my job, it's a part of me”, testifies with emotion Eve Jourdan, “dance captain” in the cabaret, which employs more than 150 people.

More than twenty "Bluebells Girls" and "Lidoboys" all dressed in black, gathered on Saturday afternoon, before their performance, at the entrance to the cabaret against the project to transform the establishment into a "hall of musical performances" by the buyer, the hotel giant Accor.

Carrying signs "the Lido is Paris", "give us back our feathers", in reference to the accessory of the dancers who made it famous, the team sketched a few dance steps under the cabaret music and the “Lido, Lido” cheers from the spectators.

The opportunity also to encourage the curious and walkers to sign the petition against the transformation. “Dancers, technicians, waiters: we have a passion for cabaret. We want to stay to make you dream”, launched the dancer Simone Cristofaro.

Among the crowd of passers-by and spectators, more than a dozen dancers from the Moulin Rouge, another famous Parisian cabaret, are present "in solidarity". “My parents danced there and so did I. I have a lot of connections with this place so we support each other as much as we can. This place is iconic, a part of Paris. It's heartbreaking,” says Rye Carpenter. Former workers like Jérémy, a 35-year-old ex-technician-machinist, also moved "in the hope that it won't close".

“Paris without the Lido is no longer Paris. It's like a monument. I had come for my 50th birthday, and I hope to come back with my children,” says Onda Cointeau, a passer-by who came with her husband to encourage the dancers.

But despite the mobilization, the employees remained pessimistic about their fate. “We are in the testimony, we know very well what is going to happen, and that we cannot prevent it. But it must not happen in anonymity, “said Ludovic Herveou, CGT union representative. Negotiations on the future of employees are due to end on August 12. Of the 184 current positions at the Lido, 157 jobs will be cut, announced the Accor group.