There are 1800 in France, in metropolitan areas and in rural areas. If the name "third place" is not very well known to the general public, some enjoy a strong notoriety: the CentQuatre, the Recyclerie, Ground Control … Places that Parisians know, by name or for having already frequented them. The province also has its star third places: the Belle de Mai in Marseille, Darwin in Bordeaux, the Machines de l'île in Nantes… We come there for a drink, "coworker", participate in a solidarity flea market… These multidisciplinary living spaces have become a challenge for the influence of cities and territories. As a result, the public authorities are taking a very close interest in it. But in the face of major crises, will third places really allow a new "living together"? Focus on spaces whose vocation is to (re)create links.
Neither the home nor the office
The word Third Place comes from "Third Place", a concept developed by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989. He defines it as "a place where we enjoy gathering, where we hold conversations, where we exchange. A kind of agora, public or private, a café of commerce, or as in its time the wash house". It is a place that is neither home nor office. In his book The great good place, he gives its main characteristics: it is a "neutral ground", free, without any social obligation to promote spontaneous friendships; a place open to all, easily accessible, where social hierarchies are abolished; what makes the place is the community that chose it and gives it its orientation and uniqueness; The Third Place keeps a low profile: it is neither snobbish nor pretentious; the atmosphere is friendly; It is a home out of the house. But in reality this concept theorized by Oldenburg dates back to the 50s, in the context of social and urban anonymity of the American suburbs. New places of sociability are then created to bring life and in particular the Mall, shopping centers organized around a central square to facilitate exchanges and meetings. In the light of this history, it is easy to understand why the sociological and political dimension (spatial planning) is central to the concept of third places.
A multifaceted "offer"
Each third place has its own concept and economic model. Some come from private initiatives (hotels or restaurants that have become places for events, coworking, etc.). Others have been created by associations in collaboration with municipal councils. Still others are part of the urban policies of metropolises. Their statutes differ: association, local public society, public establishment of cultural cooperation… They can have private shareholders, be managed by operators specialized in events. Versatile in their uses, they mix culture, catering, innovation, workspaces. Some have a humanitarian vocation (in Paris, Les Grands voisins hosted an accommodation centre for refugees). Others focus on art and culture (the CentQuatre, the Belle de Mai), celebration and events (Ground Control). Darwin is the first co-working space in France and hosts more than 190 companies a day. Their multidisciplinarity attracts a wide variety of audiences, as noted by the teams that animate the third places. At the REcyclerie, the profile of visitors differs depending on the time of day and week. Students come to work in groups, workers eat there for lunch, local residents participate in children's activities (egg hunt) or events scheduled on weekends (barter party, bike purses…). Audiences sensitive to environmental issues attend the events on ecology. La Belle de Mai is frequented by profiles from different districts of the city, with a predominance of young audiences and families. Some activities reveal a real mix, such as summer evenings on the roof terrace (musical evenings, open-air cinema) or the programming of the Gyptis cinema.
Places of engagement
We owe the first third places to the world of culture, with squats and artists' studios flourishing in the 90s. In these alternative spaces, militant thinking is expressed and community utopias develop. What happened to this militant legacy? It remains in the form of a commitment through spaces for collective reflection on the issues of our time. In its Manifesto, La Belle de Mai defines itself as follows: "La Friche is a political experience, a place of thought and action renewing the relationship of art to the territory and society". Third places are relays of today's great causes. Recently, the health crisis. On 18 March, Ground Control hosted a public utility operation organised by France Télévisions for 18-25 year olds (among those most affected by the crisis). In reaction against the closure of cultural venues, the artist RERO inscribed the words "Not essential" on the façade of the CentQuatre. In Marseille, La Belle de Mai has provided accommodation for people who are poorly housed in emergency situations, food aid distribution points for the neighbourhood's populations and temporary workspaces for artists weakened by the crisis. Through the activities they offer throughout the year, Darwin, the Fertile City, the REcyclerie raise awareness of the ecological transition. Third places promote a circular and collaborative economy: paid activities (mainly catering) make it possible to finance free activities (cultural programming, workshops, etc.). 
Cultural democratization
Cultural third places are intended to decompartmentalize access to culture and attract refractory audiences (something that traditional museum institutions have not been able to do, according to the official report published this summer on the cultural practices of the French). By making culture free and accessible to all, by promoting artistic creation and especially counter-cultures (hip hop at the CentQuatre) third places mediate. These hybrid spaces (no museums, no galleries, no theaters but a little bit of it all at once) offer culture in all its forms: workshops, exhibitions, conferences, Festivals…Some third places include bookstores, libraries, sometimes even a cinema (at the Ateliers des Capucins in Brest, a five-screen multiplex should soon see the light of day). The Micro-Folies are digital museums that give access to Masterpieces far from major cultural institutions. At La Belle de Mai, the free use of public spaces, sports fields, spaces for spontaneous expression (dance floor) or local services (nursery, extracurricular reception, activities during school time) have allowed a strong appropriation of the place by the inhabitants of the city. Thanks to the mobilization of mediation teams and resident structures, less spontaneous practices (exhibition visits, shows, artistic workshops) also reach an increasingly wide audience.
When the state gets involved (and engages)
Third places are defined as spaces "where another way of being together is made, based on decompartmentalization and porosity between individuals and practices" (CentQuatre). They are made available to citizens to meet informally, and meet "in real life" in an increasingly dematerialized society. Contrary to what one might think, third places are not the prerogative of metropolises. On the contrary: half of them are located outside the big cities. In peri-urban and rural areas, they create a rapprochement between the rural world and the urban world, between the new and the old inhabitants. They allow access to new technologies, new practices and ways of "doing things together". In the heart of the Drôme, Cedille.pro is a network of coworking spaces that promotes collaborative work. In recent years, the proliferation of third places and their positive effects (economic and social) on the territories has not escaped the State. In 2018, the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion commissioned Patrick Levy-Waitz, President of the association "Travail autrement", to establish a diagnosis of the phenomenon. His report showed the existence of a real dynamic of decentralization driven by third places. But he also found that this dynamic was fragile and that disparate third places were struggling to find their economic model (especially outside metropolitan areas, without subsidies or public funding). A National Council of Third Places has been created, with the aim of making it a recognized professional sector of the public authorities. Thus an ecosystem that until then had been built outside institutions is institutionalized. It must be said that the stakes are high: a dynamic third place attests to the liveliness of local public authorities. In Brest, the Ateliers des Capucins is the showcase of an ambitious policy of rehabilitation of the city led by the Mayor. In the years to come, this place is supposed to become an economic, cultural and social hub with metropolitan and national influence. But also contribute to the development of tourism in the region.
"Fabriques de Territoires" and professionalization of third places
The State has launched a call for expressions of interest (AMI) to identify, by 2022, 300 third places to which the label "Fabriques de territoires" is awarded. They will be distributed equally between priority neighbourhoods and non-metropolitan territories. Labelled projects will receive funding to help them coordinate their actions (€45 million over three years, with a maximum of €150,000 per project). The partners of this program are numerous: the State, the Banque des Territoires, the Association France Tiers-Lieux, Amundi, Action Logement, the SNCF, associations of local authorities… At the same time, a phenomenon of professionalization of third places is taking place, in particular via incubators specializing in the creation and animation of third places (Yes we camp, Numa, Sinny & Ooka…). Several training courses exist to learn the trades related to this ecosystem. Some third places have internal teams dedicated to communication, cultural programming, space rental for events… But are these developments not in contradiction with the initial definition of a third place: a space in constant evolution, with spontaneous uses, which does not follow any defined model but which takes the form that its communities give it?
When the imagination of third places seduces: the risk of mercantile recovery
A powerful imagination surrounds the third places: that of the margin, the mixture, the virtuous city, the liberated speech. A space-time that escapes established norms and in which individuals can move freely, without constraints. This imaginary is accompanied by an aesthetic borrowed from artists' squats: rehabilitated buildings, with raw and/or industrial decoration, with recycled furniture and the use of ecological materials. The fact that third places are installed in disused places (former factories or workshops, former administrative buildings) nourishes their identity and makes it possible to create a link between the past, the present and the future. Undeniably, this imaginary pleases, because it conveys values linked to "sustainable" and solidarity in a society where hyperconsumption and individualism reign. But like everything that works, this imaginary is taken up and copied for commercial purposes by spaces that claim to be third places but are not, and where access is neither free nor free. A phenomenon deplored by the actors of real third places, of course. 
Laboratories
"A third place is not defined by what is said about it, but by what is done with it" (Manifesto of Third Places). Third places are laboratories where new uses, new ways of living and working are tested. Digital technology plays a leading role. By offering access to the internet, sometimes workshops on digital (La Quincaillerie numérique in Guéret) third places work against digital exclusion, a factor of social exclusion. Faced with the development of teleworking caused by the health crisis, coworking spaces (the cornerstone of third places) make it possible to feel less isolated when you cannot work in a company. Free and collaborative uses are highlighted: learning "by doing", independent work, mutual aid. In "FabLabs" (workshops open to the public, equipped with standard and digital manufacturing tools) professionals and amateurs can create their objects quickly, easily, from simple concepts or prototypes. Start-up incubators naturally find their place in these digitally oriented and experimentation-oriented environments.
What future for third places?
The challenges faced by third places are numerous, some of which relate to their essence: if their versatility attracts, it is also what makes their identity sometimes difficult to define. Certainly they define themselves as alternatives to hyperconsumption, but do they escape any consumerist and commercial logic? In the long term, could they lose their militant dimension to become mere places of outing and entertainment? Not to mention the challenges to be met in the face of the health crisis: how will these spaces, dedicated to hospitality and conviviality, manage their activity if health measures are prolonged? So many uncertainties that force third places to carry out an in-depth reflection, as explained by the Deputy Director of La Belle de Mai: "This crisis, which calls for a work of resilience, has led artists and the entire Friche community to accelerate a shared and collective reflection on our action, the future and role of our places in the territory, our link to the population and our relationship to transformation". Let us hope that at the end of the crisis, and in the years to come, third places will further develop their role as mediators and spokespersons, and that they will continue to be thought of, and directed, by actors really involved who will prevent opportunistic recuperation.
Some figures on third places:
La Belle de Mai (Marseille): about 450,000 visitors and 600 events per year, 100,000 m2 of developed spaces. La REcyclerie (Paris): 7.2 tons of waste recovered into compost per year. Le CentQuatre (Paris): in 2019, 585,093 visitors, 51,267 visitors in spontaneous practices, 407 events, 22 projects on national and international tour. Les Grands Voisins (Paris): per year, 600,000 visitors, 300 events. In 5 years of activity, 46,500 people received at the day reception for asylum seekers and refugees, 1,000 people in emergency accommodation on site, 2000 people living and / or working on site, 5000 volunteers involved in 5 years. 
Travel idea for the Easter holidays: a stay in Brittany and a visit to the third place Les Ateliers des Capucins, in Brest… http://www.justfocus.fr/more/lifestyle/voyage/bienvenue-en-bretagne-patrimoine-culturel.html
