La Clef Reopens: Beloved Restaurant Returns After 8 Years

In 2018, La Clef, an independent cinema in the Latin Quarter in Paris, announced its closure. It finally reopened its doors on Wednesday January 14, 2026, thanks to the mobilization of activists, local residents and professionals in the sector.

“We want to kiss everyone!” Her white hair held back by a thin black headband, Françoise, 86, is enjoying this evening of Wednesday January 14, 2026, which she has been waiting for for a long time. Neighbor of the La Clef cinema since its opening, at 34 rue Daubenton, in the 1970s, Françoise got involved in the movement to prevent its disappearance. “We have fought for a long time for cinema. It’s a great day”she said, moved.

The impressive queue goes up rue Daubenton to rue Monge, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. Nearly 700 people responded to the call, according to the organization. Like Françoise, many film buffs, volunteers and local residents share their joy at seeing the doors of La Clef open again, after a long period of uncertainty, between promise of closure, illegal occupation and unexpected takeover.

Since its inauguration in 1973, this independent cinema has offered a program of films rarely shown in large theaters, politically and artistically engaged works. “We showed films there that we didn’t see elsewhere”remembers Françoise, from “free and political cinema”she insists. Designed as a space for broadcasting and debate, the La Clef cinema is much more than a simple dark room for its regulars.

It is therefore a symbol of cinema and local life in this Parisian district which was in danger of disappearing in 2018, when the owner of La Clef announced he wanted to get rid of it. Cinema employees, local residents, film buffs and professionals from the cultural sector quickly organized to prevent the building from being sold. Sylvie, 63, a cinema and French teacher in a high school in the Paris region, was present during the last session, on a Sunday afternoon in 2018. “We were all very sad”she remembers, “We said to ourselves that we couldn’t leave this place like that.”

With a few other local residents, Sylvie founded a collective and began to organize meetings to try to organize the response. “Then the movement gained momentum”she recalls moved, showing her membership card, a vestige of La Clef before its closure, in 2018. It was then the beginnings of what would become a long illegal occupation of the place, from 2019 to 2022. “It reassures us to see that we can resist”breathes the professor, her eyes shining with emotion, “It’s the symbol of a progressive fight, of resistance. And that’s nice.”

Victor is one of the volunteers who experienced the occupation, with the La Clef Revival association. “We showed films every evening”with the support of cinema professionals and independent film distributors, he remembers. “It was supposed to last a few weeks, it lasted two and a half years”Victor smiled. Then comes the expulsion, in March 2022. The collective prepares the counterattack. And why not buy the building? The idea seems out of place, but it is gaining ground among the activists and local residents involved. “The Key is a lot of crazy ideas”blurted Victor. So they decide to buy it.

With the support of the Bellevilles solidarity property company, the collective managed to negotiate the price of the building; it goes from 2.9 million to 2.35 million euros. Added to this are the costs of notaries, architects and lawyers. Total price of the project: 2.7 million euros. A crowdfunding campaign, bringing together nearly 5,000 donors, has raised 400,000 euros. Among the donors, some well-known names in cinema were keen to provide their support, including Agnès Jaoui, Céline Sciamma, Mathieu Amalric and Léos Carax.

Several major patrons also came forward to contribute to the project, notably the American director Quentin Tarantino, Cédric Klapisch and the Caisse d’Epargne. They make it possible to raise an additional two million euros. The remaining 800,000 euros are taken out in the form of a loan to be repaid over sixteen years. In the summer of 2024, the building is purchased.

“The major donors, however, have no decision-making power over cinema”would like to point out Albane Barrau, a volunteer from the association, who takes care of communication and press relations in particular. The La Clef building belongs to an endowment fund, a structure without shareholders. Cinema is therefore a collective good. Management is shared between volunteers, under the model of “useful ownership”. Significant work is also being carried out. Asbestos removal, complete renovation of the electrical installation, plumbing and ventilation, upgrading to fire standards… The renovation lasts one year and costs nearly 600,000 euros.

This Wednesday evening, faced with the crowd gathered for the opening, some activists still struggle to believe it, as the recovery project seemed so unrealistic. “It’s the consecration of what we’ve worked for all these years”explains Albane Barrau, visibly moved. “We built a place as we imagined it, without concession”she continues. Concretely, independent and associative cinema is structured around the La Clef Revival association. “There are different structuring commissions, with a core group of around fifty people. More broadly, the association brings together between 150 and 200 volunteers, more or less involved”explains Chloé, another member of the association, who has been there since the occupation.

Everyone is responsible for different tasks: ticketing, screening, programming, communication, etc. Training sessions are regularly organized to welcome newcomers. “We hope to see the ranks grow”explains Chloe. Volunteers will provide nine sessions per week, with fiction and documentary films. Video and sound editing rooms will also be open for rental.

In front of the cinema box office where people are rushing to validate their tickets and take their seats to attend the first screening, two friends are chatting, a drink in hand. “We’ve been waiting for this reopening for so long”confides Anne-Marie Laarhus, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1996. Next to her, Gilbert Soury, 76, presents himself as a “aficionado” of the place. “I feel like I’m back in 1968.”he said. He laughs, then the emotion returns: “They fought magnificently. It rejuvenates me!”