A little-known episode, Henri Lefebvre was expelled from the CNRS in 1953. Dylan Simon explores the political reasons for this exclusion, the Cold War context in which it took place, and the media coverage it generated. By editing and commenting on a previously unpublished document - the brief Henri Lefebvre wrote in his defense - Dylan Simon shows how the sociologist contested this decision and fought for his reinstatement. In so doing, the article reveals a different image of the Marxist intellectual caught up in red tape, and is a broader reflection on the social and material life of archives.