00:01Theatre, a peaceful weapon against the Mafia
00:04Until November 7th, the Factory of Evergreens welcomes a troupe from Palermo on stage.
00:10Proof of the changing climate in Italy, these actors embody the cultural renaissance of the city, long plagued by the
00:16Mafia.
00:17Report by Francois Guillaume, Philippe Hernando, and Patrick Millerod
00:25A troupe from Palermo in a Parisian theatre
00:30An unimaginable scene a few years ago
00:34At the time, the Mafia had the upper hand in the city, stifling any cultural will.
00:40The troupe's actors were 10 years younger. They were high school or university students.
00:45And like all Palermitans, they lived withdrawn lives, accepting this inevitability.
00:51We truly thought there was no possibility of change.
00:54And then there was the death of Judges Falcon and Borsolino in 1992.
00:59It was a shock. There were large anti-Mafia demonstrations, and then little by little, we opened up.
01:06A desire to create, to have fun, to change the city, to simply live in a new Palermo.
01:13The city then began its renaissance. The newly elected mayor focused on culture to change mentalities and the city's appearance.
01:21Thus, the troupe of actors invested in this working-class neighborhood with a high Mafia density and rehabilitated the old
01:28Garibaldi Theatre, closed for 32 years.
01:31A ruined theatre, a mirror of Mafia dominated Palermo, a mirror of its tragic history.
01:41Culture is a weapon in the fight against the Mafia and it is also a means of combating what makes
01:45it fertile ground.
01:46The exploitation of people, stupidity, and lack of political awareness.
01:51Thanks to this theatre, we are enabling people to better emancipate themselves.
01:58All neighbourhoods of Palermo were experiencing this renewal.
02:02Witness this church, which has become a concert hall.
02:06Previously, it was a dump.
02:09Another example is the Opera Massimo, the third largest venue in Europe after Paris and Vienna, which was closed for
02:1526 years and has reopened its doors a year ago.
02:20Today, more than anything else, the people of Palermo want to regain their dignity and, above all, get rid of
02:26the image that has clung to them for decades.
02:28This tragic equation.
02:30Palermo equals Mafia.
02:32Mr.
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