Récits de Christiania (1994)
Jean-Manuel Traimond

   This book offers a magnificent glimpse into the Mess (capital M) happening in Christiania in the early 1980's. 

   For those who don't know, Christiania is an area, a district of Copenhagen, which operates technically as a micronation, making to a certain extend their own rules, distinct from the main city of Copenhagen (and thusly Denmark).

   In 2 words, Christiania originated as a squat in 1971, hippies and other people, mostly from alternative background, taking over a  former unused military area to live in, illegally. Many developments later that we'll gloss over here, the place is still kind of a grey area if we talk about the law. People sell hash and smoke it in the streets - even though the police comes and closes shops from time to time.. They banned cars in this area, they have a special relationship to tax as well, etc.

   What is often a one-day visit for Copenhageners (and tourists) occupies a central place in many peoples lives.

   Things happen there. People live there, multitude of people, with therefore a multitude of different background, different ideals, different trajectories.

   The author, Jean-Manuel Traimond, an anarchist, lived there from 1980 to 1984. This book is his recollection of those times. A personal story here, a portrait of an amazing person there, an insanely terrible event over here.. The book is a little bit deconstructed, but so is the place it's about.

   From what I understood, the book was only published in french. Fortunately, I speak french!

   My favorite story has to be the one with the Santa Clauses. The Christianites organized a Santa extravaganza in Copenhagen. The action happened in two different waves. 

   In the first wave, the Christianian Santa Clauses were giving away bus tickets in buses, giving away food to people, giving (alternative) comics to kids, singing songs to the police...

   Then, in the second wave, they took over a General Motors factory which was laying off their employees - again, in Santa Claus costume - refusing to leave the place, even after the police intervened.

   The story culminates in the Christianites, still disguised as Santa, invading Magasin du Nord, one of the most prestigious shopping centers in Copenhagen, "give away" items from the shops "for free" to visitors, in total chaos involving the police and incredulous costumers that would end up protecting the Santa Clauses.

   Another story shows the internal tensions between some of the different groups calling Christiania "home". Søren Ib, a communist, wrote an article in the UgeSpejlet ("The Mirror of the Week", weekly journal of Christiania), not only condemning Pusher Street (the main drug selling street) but applying to it a Marxist framework : small drug vendors being, for Søren Ib, exploited by the bigger pushers.

   A general assembly got convoked for Christiania to speak about this article. Pushers were there. Things got so heated that afterwards, Ib apparently called out for help and spent the whole night wide awake, with a shotgun in his hand, and one (1) friend by his side with his very own japanese saber...

   Disappointed in having so few people coming to his defense, Ib left Christiania the day after. 

    Given that Christiania has the objective of being self-sustainable, it's inhabitants refuse to call the police if they need to resolve a conflict. This fact is exposed in another story towards the end of the book.

   Someone in Christiania mistakenly gave the green light for a rocker reunion (in Denmark, rocker is a term referring to gangs; bikers, leather jackets, doubtful mafia-like behavior).

   800 rockers come around the Grey Hall (events and concert hall) to party for 2 nights. Troubles begin from the first evening, when drunk rockers start assaulting people, breaking windows, this kind of things. 

   Christianites came up with a plan for the second night, since they couldn't simply shut down the show : barricade houses, send kids and frightened citizens to Copenhagen, hold an makeshift emergency hospital in Christiania, and make the party last until dawn so that rockers wouldn't get bored and wander around, outside of the Grey Hall.

   The rockers came back. Things got crazy, and terrible. Fights broke out. Women got sexually assaulted, outside of the Grey hall.

   To respond, Christianites used their "telephonic chain", to call out for some help. Not to the police, but to friends, bars, cafés, outside of Christiania. The members of a university party came to help out, and contained the rockers to the Grey Hall until dawn.

   It's unfortunately not the only bad story in the book. At the same time, there is a lot of touching and vibrant stories as well. A bit of everything. A little bit like Christiania : an art gallery here, a drug dealer there, a great vegan restaurant over here, a person that clearly lost it over there. A bit of everything.

   I recommend the book as much as I recommend the place : a lot.