Transforming the banlieue of Paris

[Deleted]

The English language press appears to have fallen in love with the word "banlieue" and it has been misusing it ever since. It constantly appears in articles about the "problems" in France and banlieue has become the catchword term for troubled immigrant neighbourhoods away from the city centre.

Frankly, this is perfectly silly because the word simply means "suburbs," and there is absolutely no difference in its application in French to the ultra chic suburban towns of Neuilly-sur-Seine or Le Vesinet or the extremely run down towns of Aubervilliers or Sarcelles. When the French talk about the banlieue, they are simply talking about the towns surrounding a major city, not at all the 'quality' of these towns.

Anyway, I just want you to know that I will not use the word banlieue again when writing in English. This little report is about the suburbs, and in fact suburbs that you have already seen if you read my report about La Zone, which is the real French term for bad 'burbs.

As you may recall, Aubervilliers is now the centre of the garment district which has in great part left the Sentier in Paris. And you can't talk about clothes without turning your eyes in the direction of China these days.

The individual little showrooms will gradually disappear, as will the first big fake façades that were put up to hide the original buildings.

"Gradually" is not really the correct word. It is all being transformed very rapidly now.







Ghosts watch over all of this frenetic activity.

   



   



Will this quirky little building be preserved?

more to come

[Deleted]

One reason that I wanted to return to Aubervilliers is because I was intrigued by the upcoming metro station at the end of the year. The "Front Populaire" metro station will extend line 12 at the end of the year, and then 2 years later there will be two more stations, finally ending at "Mairie d'Aubervilliers" on the respectable side of town.

Place du Front Populaire didn't even exist before, so I needed to see this imaginary place that merited a metro station.



It is coming into existence quite rapidly.





The metro is ready and waiting for the people.







All new metro stations have elevators.

[Deleted]

There were a number of bus lines running through this area, waiting to disappear as soon as the metro station opens.

Frankly, I thought it looked like it could be a very nice neighbourhood. This is actually on the border of La Plaine Saint Denis, which is a sub-area of Saint Denis, and the metro station will be extremely popular for another reason. La Plaine Saint Denis is where all of the television studios are located for all of the game shows, reality shows and quite a few of the other programs to which the public is invited. Luc Besson has also built movie studios there.

Some of the area is already finished and populated.







There are bicycle paths.

There is even a new covered market. This is France.

This is la banlieue suburbia.

I could not find out the purpose of this building nearing completion. I walked all around it, and there was no sign to indicate what it would be.

Front?



Back?



Other walls await their fate.

Rounding a corner, I found a Roma shanty town. Note the satellite dishes and chimneys. I really wanted to get more pictures, but as soon as I came up the other street, it was full of long skirted girls going to "work" in the big city, and a little farther on there was a big group of male teens whiling away the morning and perhaps looking for reasons to stick knives in people (it is very difficult not to have a prejudiced thought or two when seeing these guys, because they clearly are doing nothing, while the girls are at least going to beg all day). I really wanted a picture of them with my excellent zoom, but I turned around too many times walking away from them to see if they were looking at me, and of course each time I decided that they were although I have no idea if it was true.

I would say that at least 300 people lived in this zone.



There's still a lot of work to do here. Lots of empty lots and hostile walls.







Just a few scraps of old France can be found.



When they build new hotels, they'll probably say "just a few steps from Sacré Coeur."

I know I'll be back in six months or so.

[htmb]

I took a few pictures of very tall construction cranes situated to the north of Parc Villette. North of the field where I assume outdoor films are shown in July and August. Could those cranes have been located in the area you photographed, Kerouac?

[Deleted]

No, that would have probably been the construction site of the Philharmonic or else part of the Boulevard MacDonald project, still inside Paris.

[patricklondon]

What's the policy on re-housing people and businesses displaced by all the new development? Are they given any preference in accessing the new housing (and is it at a price they can afford), or are they just, in effect, moved on elsewhere as gentrification takes over? Do locals get any chances of jobs in the media and other trendy businesses moving in?

(Where I live in London went through similar sorts of processes 20-30 years ago, as the 2012 Olympic Park area is, and these are hot issues).

[Deleted]

Sorry to get back to your questions late, Patrick. In this particular area, very few people and businesses were displaced because it was pretty much a dying industrial zone. But yes, there is a lodging obligation at similar prices (and usually better quality, since they move out of decrepit ruins into new flats).

New companies are also very much "encouraged" (through tax exemptions and other incentives) to hire the local population for as many jobs as possible.

While it is never possible to satisfy 100% of the people, the authorities have learned after many mistakes that it is very important to satisfy the locals as much as possible -- or face the consequences.