WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Lamouette enragee: The Enraged Seagull will be present on May 1st in Lens, at the Nos Futurs Festival... (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Many of you have missed the Popular Expression and Social Criticism Book Fair organized every May 1st in Arras by the Colère du Présent association. Rejoice! We will now be meeting in Lens, at the Nos Futurs Festival. ---- Several organizations from the mining region that participated in the Arras event have decided to relaunch an initiative "in the style of May 1st in Arras," and to make it a permanent fixture, starting this year, 2026, at the Toit Commun (1).

What will it be about?
Another World Already Exists
This will be the "Our Futures Festival": while the Arras book fair emphasized a literary component ("book fair") and a component of "popular expression and social critique," Le Toit Commun and its partners, without abandoning the literary dimension (authors will be present starting this year), prioritize the activist, social critique, and societal change aspects.

With one conviction: the construction of a new, emancipatory society, free from all exploitation and domination, is already being built today, through our proposals, our initiatives, and our struggles for a different future.

That is why, while our festival is generically titled "Our Futures Festival," for this year, 2026, we are subtitling it "Another World Already Exists."

The program: You can find the event program at the following link: https://letoitcommun.org/festival-nos-futurs-2026-le-programme/

We can already announce that the program includes:

The festival opening

The festival opens its doors at 10:30 am.

At 11:00 am, we will pause for a few moments for the "official" opening of the festival. This will be a multi-voice opening, to contextualize the importance of holding the festival in 2026 and every May 1st in subsequent years, around several themes: General presentation by Le Toit Commun / Feminism: Planning Familial 62 / Food, ecology: VRAC / Labor movement: CGT / Internationalism: La Cimade / Literature section: Librairie Sensations

A festival means a celebration

Especially on May 1st, International Workers' Day. In practice: all day long: bar, food, cakes, crepes, barbecue...
Several performances by Thomas Suel (spoken poetry, slam) / From 12:00 PM: a large feminist karaoke session, hosted by the Pas-de-Calais Family Planning Association / At 2:00 PM, in the outdoor area: the Cirqu'en cavale batucada band / At 4:00 PM: concert with the group Quai de la Deule (Irish, sea, and activist songs)

Stalls

Many organizations have embraced the festival's theme: Our Futures 2026 Another World Already Exists. You will have the opportunity to connect with:

associations, cooperatives, and activist groups involved in a wide range of fields: food, migration, commons, international solidarity, digital technology, transportation, media, feminism and LGBTQ+ rights, self-management, alter-globalization, antifascism, peasant farming, popular education, contemporary art... Unions, representatives of the alternative press...

Activities at the booths

Here are some of the workshops offered at the festival booths: climate quiz (Climactif collective), activity based on the photographic mural of migrations + badge making (La Cimade association), woodturning and clay workshops (Le Coron des Arts association), presentation of a seed library (Les Achillées association), and you too can take the mic! (Micros Rebelles 99.6 association)...

A Literature Hub

A hub directly aligned with the festival's mission, featuring authors who embody its identity: the construction of a new, emancipatory society, free from all exploitation and domination, is already underway today, through our proposals, our initiatives, and our struggles for a different future. The following authors, publishers, and booksellers will be present at the festival: Didier Andreau, Julie Anthoine, Patricia Bernard, Georges A. Bertrand, Laurie Binda, Antoine Blocier, and many more...

Workshops

In addition to the activities and workshops offered at the booths, the festival offers themed events. The list is not yet complete, but we can already mention:

Presentation of the game "The History of Capitalism" (Le Toit Commun) / Putting an end to misconceptions (LDC-Education union) / Understanding food security (Les Anges Gardins association CALIEN) / Planned obsolescence of mobile phones (Cliss XXI cooperative) / Polar Blues: crime fiction and blues to foster a critical vision of the world (Antoine Blocier, writer Jean-Louis Wouts, trumpeter Bernard Goutin, saxophonist), etc.

For Children

Several booths offer a variety of activities for children, tailored to their age. The festival also features a dedicated children's area with a reading corner and art activities. In this space, a painter leads a painting workshop, and a mosaic artist invites children and teenagers to create miniature mosaics. Both artists are members of the ReGGarts collective. Finally, storyteller Bernadette will be giving three storytelling sessions adapted to the children's ages.

Film Area

The Nos Futurs festival offers a dedicated cinema and audiovisual space. Throughout the day, short films and audiovisual clips are shown continuously. All programming choices are made by filmmaker Paul Pirritano.

(1) Le Toit Commun: https://letoitcommun.org/

Boulogne-sur-Mer, April 13, 2026

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Strikes and social movements in Belgium

https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/13/retrouvons-nous-le-1-mai-a-lens-au-festival-nos-futurs/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca