La banlieue, c'est le paradis

In the 60s, suburbs were supposed to be modern, comfortable paradises, veritable Eldorados for newcomers: those flocking from the countryside to the city and those arriving from Portugal, Spain, North Africa and Africa to help rebuild post-war France and develop its industry. The large housing estates as we saw them being built at the time bear witness to this: at the outset, everything was well in place for happiness in blocks of flats. The apartments were equipped with heating and electricity. But very soon, in the 80s, the great disillusions began: crisis and unemployment, poverty and delinquency, racism and police violence, drugs and alcohol. Mohamed Bouhafsi tells the story of an ideal that only worked for a while.